The Long Way Home
by Roniturtle
Summary: Leonardo Tartaruga and Raphael Hamato are falling in love. But what happens when their pasts come back to haunt them. Will their love survive? Sequel to The Travelers Revised. Violence and attempted rape. T-cest. Don't like don't read. Nope...Still don't own them.
1. Chapter 1 Prologue

Ch 1 Prologue

 _"You monster!" A women's voice screamed out through the darkness of the night. "How could you do this to your own son?!"_

 _A young female turtle dressed in jeans and a light blue t-shirt under a plain jean jacket stood in a lab room on the top floor of the TCRI building. In her arms she held a small five year old screaming turtle tot whose arms were covered in bruises and bandages. She stood with her shell against a lab table and was facing a tall Japanese man with dark hair, broad shoulders and firm jaw. Next to him, a shorter African American man with afro like black hair and glasses, he wore a lab coat and held a hypodermic needle. The taller man scowled at the young female turtle as she tried to soothe the crying little turtle who shook violently in her arms._

 _"Venus." He intoned in a low dark voice. "Give me back our son and go home." He reached his hands out but she only backed further into the table, her left hand reaching behind her to find something, anything to hold him back._

 _"Never!" She screamed. "I'll never let you touch him again!"_

 _"Venus! You are mistaken by what you think you saw." He scolded her. "The shots he got were for childhood diseases, nothing more." He began to advance on her. "Now put him down, go home, and get back in bed like a good little wife and I'll forget about this idiocy accusation..."_

 _"Liar!" The young female turtle called Venus grabbed a bottle filled with liquid she found behind her and tossed it at the advancing man, hitting him full in the face. He screamed and covered his face. "I found the file you were keeping on him!" She screamed as the man began to wildly swing his arms in pain and confusion. The other man backed away in horror, watching as the tall man blindly staggered around and accidently turned over a table filled with other bottles. "I know what you've done and I will not let you use him like this ever again." With that she turned and ran out of the room while behind her, screams mixed with a series of small explosions could be heard and the top floor quickly became engulfed with flames._

 _Venus frantically ran out the building, clutching the little turtle tightly in her arms. She ran to a small car and quickly got her son in and buckled. She took one quick look at the building, watching in both shock and fear as the top of the building burned and screams could be heard from inside. In the distance she could also hear sirens coming toward them._

 _She got in the car and scrambled to get the keys out of her jacket and into the ignition. She got the car in gear and pulled out of the parking lot, tires screeching. Looking in her rear view mirror as she drove, she could see the emergency vehicles coming into view. She pushed down on the gas pedal and sped away. She got on the highway and breath a sigh of relief. Looking down at her still crying and shaking son, she placed a gentle paw on his head._

 _"It's alright now my little one." She soothed. "It's over now." He looked up at her with big bright blue sapphire eyes moistened with tears. She smiled down at him and turned back to the road toward home. "Remember." She told herself and forced a calming breath. "No matter what, always look ahead, never behind, your son must come first."_

 _She looked back down at him and forced a smile. "You are safe and we'll be okay" She continued to force herself to calm down and hold back a sob. "I'll never let them harm you again...my sweet little Leonardo."_


	2. Chapter 2 Raphael's Birthday Party

Ch 2 Raphael's Birthday Party.

13 years later.

"Bye Auntie, I"m on my way to work." Leonardo Turtaruga called out as he walked out the door to his Aunt's apartment. "Please don't forget to drop off Raphael's birthday present."

"I'll remember, bye sweetie." She called back from the kitchen. "Zip up your jacket, it's chilly out there."

"Yes Auntie." He responded as he rolled his eyes. "Have a safe and fun trip to Vermont!"

"Thank you Leonardo, I'll see you on Sunday, have fun at Raphael's birthday party!"

"Thank you."He called back.

Eighteen year old Leonardo stepped out into the brisk cold air and took a deep breath. It was a beautiful Friday morning and the sun was bright in the sky, and even with the coldness of the air, it made Leo feel warm and happy. For the last three months, Leo's life had been better then it had ever been. He had a wonderful boyfriend who he was falling in love with. His aunt had taken him in and once he had found a job, he insisted on paying her rent and help with the bills even though she refused. They finally settled on having him pay three hundred a month just so he could assist and he was happy with that. He found a wonderful job, thanks to Raphael's adopted father, Yoshi Hamato, or Splinter as he was fondly called by his students. Every weekday, he was assisting in teaching ninjutsu to many of Splinter's students. And Raphael's brothers had welcomed him immediately into the family. Life could not be better. And yet, in the back of his mind, as happy as he was, he couldn't help but feel something was coming, and it was not going to be good.

He walked the three blocks to the dojo, a bounce in his step and a smile on his face. It had become a routine with him. Every day, Monday through Friday, he would leave his Aunt's home at eight in the morning, arrive at the dojo by eight fifteen, there Raph would be waiting for him to say goodbye before going off to school. He was taking college courses to become a veterinarian assistant.

Raph had discovered he had a way with animals and it was something he always enjoyed. He felt he had finally found his calling in life and he was loving every minute of it. He would wait for Leo to show up, talk for a few minutes and, after a goodbye hug and kiss, take off on his motorcycle, or truck due to the weather, to be at school by nine. He would return by four thirty, enjoy dinner with his family and Leo, and the two of them would enjoy some alone time before Raph would walk, or drive, Leo back home.

After Leo saw Raph off, he would spend time in the family's kitchen enjoying a cup of tea with Master Splinter. Leo found talking with his Sensei was always relaxing. Splinter was a wonderful listener and gave great advice. Leo was surprised at how quickly they had warmed up to each other. Almost as though they had always been a part of each other's lives. After sharing tea, Leo would go into the dojo and prepare for classes to start.

The dojo, which was situated in the back of the Hamato's two story house, had a lot of students and classes began at nine in the morning and went till four in the afternoon. Leo assisted in teaching ages from pre-school to senior citizens who were interested in learning martial arts or just looking for a good workout. Regardless of what they wanted, Leo had fun and really enjoyed assisting and at times even took over classes for Splinter.

Today, as he sat speaking with Master Splinter, Raph's younger brothers, Michelangelo and Donatello came downstairs from their bedrooms and greeted him warmly. The kitchen had a staircase that led directly to the upstairs and the boy's bedrooms whereas Splinter's room was off the living room. Leo smiled as the made their way to their seats. It had only been a few months but Leo already began to already think of them as brothers. They sat down and the four of them began to discuss the upcoming event of Raph's birthday party.

"So Leo." Mikey looked at him. "What are you getting Raph for his birthday?"

"Taking him for dinner and a movie tomorrow." He told him. "I had wanted to take him camping to Arcadia Park like he did for my birthday but he wanted to leave that place for my birthday only." Leo shrugged. "Says it's more special that way."

"Sounds nice." Donnie told him, smiling.

"But that's it, nothing else?" Mikey looked at him closely.

"I have something else." He told him. "My aunt will be bringing it over on her way to work." He explained. "It's small but large enough he would have seen it if I brought it with me."

Mikey nodded then turned to his father. "Sensei." Mikey turned to him. "Are you getting him anything special?" He asked eagerly."After all, it is his eighteenth."

Splinter looked thoughtful for a moment. He stroked his long beard as he thought of his response. "Raphael has worked hard in trying to figure out what he wants in life." He responded. "I was going to give him the gift of education."

Mikey looked at him questioningly. Donnie turned to him. "He's going to pay for either all or most of his college."

"Oh." Mikey smiled. "My birthday is coming up in November." He said with a twinkle. "Can you think more along the lines of a car or something like that." Splinter smiled and sipped his tea.

"Not before my birthday Mikey." Donnie reminded him. "It is two weeks before yours." Mikey stuck his tongue out at his brother.

Leo had discovered very quickly that the Hamato family like to throw large parties. Especially when it came to birthdays. For Leo's eighteenth, Raph had planned a special two night trip to Arcadia National Park in Maine. It was a trip they planned back when they were coming home from Los Angeles Ca. Splinter and the rest of the family surprised Leo with a large party and Splinter had given Leo and Raph some money to assist in helping with their trip.

"Anything special you want Donnie?" Leo asked. "How bout an all expense paid trip for you and Mona somewhere, like what Splinter got Raph and I?"

There was an awkward moment of silence that seem to stretch for an eternity and Leo wondered what he had said to cause such tension. "Did I say something wrong?" He asked, anything to break the tension.

"No Leonardo." Splinter said gently.

"It's just that Mona is not one who really likes to travel." Donnie told him. He then got up and went to fill his travel mug with coffee. "I'm off to work. See you at four."

"Yeah, I guess I better get going too." Mikey got up and placed his glass into the sink. "We're expecting a special guest for the show. Have a fun day."

Leo was surprised by how quickly the other two turtles walked out. But he let it go and finished his tea. He then made his way to the dojo to begin planning out the day's lessons. The day went well, some classes even had new students and Leo was happy to assist them all in learning. A few of the more younger, female students always seem to need extra attention from him. Leo smiled as he adjusted one particular female's form. She never could remember to keep her arms close to her body. Or so it seemed that way.

The brothers were back by four and since Raph was not due home til four thirty, that gave them half an hour to decorate. Mikey made a beautiful cake and a lovely dinner of turkey and all the trimmings. Eventually, Donnie and Mikey's girlfriends showed up and assisted in getting everything ready.

Renet Tilly walked in. She smiled at Leo and gave him a warm hug. She, like Mikey, always seemed to be happy and was always glad to see him. But when Mona Lisa showed up, it was a different story. She would acknowledge him, but it was never a very warm greeting and she rarely spoke to him. From the moment he first met her, she seemed very cold, almost angry toward him. He couldn't understand if he had done something that upset her. He had asked Raph occasionally but all he would say was that was just her way. Leo always felt it was something more.

It was just after four thirty when Raph showed up. Leo was waiting for him at the door like always with a hug and kiss. He led him into the living room where Raph was expecting to just sit and talk like they always did, but when they got there, a loud "SURPRISE!" startled him. Raph looked around and saw a variety of balloons and decorations. A large banner that read: HAPPY EIGHTEENTH BIRTHDAY RAPHAEL" hung from the ceiling.

"My birthday's not til tomorrow." Raph commented.

"We figured this way you and Leo could have the weekend to yourself." Donnie told him as Leo led him to the couch.

Raph smiled widely and gave a Leo a big kiss before giving each of his family a warm hug. The party was wonderful, they ate dinner. Sang 'Happy Birthday' to him and watched as he opened presents.

Both brothers along with their girlfriends gave him accessories for his motorcycle and gift cards to various stores. Splinter, as he said, gave him a large check to help with college as well as getting the books he needed along with a beautiful new red shirt with pearly white buttons.

"That's fathers for ya." Raph smiled and gave his father a warm hug. "Practical yet sensible. Thank you Sensei."

"You are most welcome my son." He smiled

Leo's present he opened last. It was wrapped in shimmering red paper and was a picture of the two of them in a silver frame. On the bottom was an engraving showing the date the two met. On the top, it had their names. The picture showed the two of them standing in front of the Grand Canyon.

"Is that the first day you met?" Mikey asked.

"It's actually the day after we met." Leo explained. "But it's one of my favorite pictures." Raph blushed and gave Leo a kiss on the cheek.

"So what attracted you to our hot headed brother in the first place Leo?" Mikey asked. "You never did say."

"Mikey." Renet glared at him with a look that told him not to be rude.

"It's okay." Leo told her. "It was his green eyes." He told them the story of their first meeting.

"What about you Raphael?" Mona asked rather curtly. "What did you see in Leonardo that first day?"

Both Donnie and Mikey exchanged strange looks that Leo couldn't help but wonder about.

"That sweet ass of his." Raph said as he reached behind and gave Leo a small pat on his back side. Leo blushed red and then yelped as Raph pinched his ass cheek rather hard.

"Raph!" Leo looked at him with a mock angry glare. "Not in front of your family." Splinter chuckled then also gave his oldest a warning look.

The party over, the six youth cleaned up and then decided to curl up on the couch and watch a little TV while Master Splinter went to bed. Afterwards, as they went to say goodnight, Mona Lisa walked over to Raphael and leaned into him. While Leo watched, she gave him a very tender kiss on the cheek and whispered something in his ear that made his eyes go wide. Mona then gave Leo a look and went over to Donnie who was also watching the two of them with mixed emotions. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and said goodnight.


	3. Chapter 3 A Voice from the Past

Ch 3 A Voice from the Past

Leo and Raph left the Hamato home and climbed into the family's pick up truck and began the short drive to Leo's apartment. On the way, Leo looked at Raph nervously.

"What's the matter Leo?" Raph finally asked as he drove. "It's clear you want to ask me something."

"What did Mona say to you as she was leaving?" He turned and looked at him.

"Why do you want to know?" He looked at him a little miffed.

"You really need to ask me that?!" Leo replied rather hotly. He was getting very put off by Raph's attitude. "I saw the way you looked after she whispered something in your ear." He crossed his arms and let out an annoyed huff.

"Honestly Leo, it was nothing." He shrugged his shoulders. "Just something about you and I have a 'good time'. That's all." He made quotation marks in the air.

Leo wasn't buying it. "Why does Mona hate me?" Leo looked away not wanting to see the anger that he was sure was building in Raph's eyes. He had asked this question before but he always felt like Raph never gave him a straight answer.

Raph gave an exasperated sigh. "Look Leo. Mona doesn't hate...

"Please don't tell me she doesn't hate me." Leo interrupted, turning to him. "I see the way she looks at me. And that birthday kiss she gave you was more then just a kiss." He sighed heavily and looked down at his lap. "Just tell me the truth Raph. Were you two an item at one time?"

Raph looked at him and hung his head. "At one time Leo." Raph replied sounding rather sad. "But that was a long time ago and it has nothing to do with us now so please, just ignore Mona and let's enjoy the rest of our weekend. Okay?"

Leo looked at Raph skeptically. He knew there was more to the story but decided he would wait till later to bring it up again. He finally sighed and after Raph parked the car, leaned in for a deep passionate kiss which Raph returned eagerly. "Okay," He told him, I'll let it go...for now." Raph chuckled and shook his head.

They left the car and walked up the steps to the building, holding hands lovingly, eventually making their way into the apartment.

Raph had brought some homework to do so while Leo showered and readied himself for the night, Raph finished up on an essay due on Monday. It took him over an hour and by the time he was done, Leo was resting comfortably in bed waiting for him.

"I was thinking of a movie and dinner tomorrow for your birthday." He told him as Raph crawled into the bed next to him. "I know you've been wanting to see that new superhero movie that came out a week ago." Leo was looking through the newspaper as he spoke. "And Murakami has a new pizza gio..."

Before Leo could finish, Raph took the paper out of his hands then pressed his lips against Leo's and gently laid him down onto the bed. He ran his hands down along Leo's body and began to push Leo's shorts down his legs, eventually getting them all the way off. He laid on top of him and proceeded to place his legs in between Leo's.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx LEMON xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Leo had not realized Raph had gotten into bed with no clothes on and he was quickly realizing Raph was starting to get an extreme hard on. "I'm not interested in movies or dinner right now Leo." He said, his voice low and husky, removing Leo's t-shirt. "Right now, I just wanna have some fun."

Leo giggled and looked up at Raph. "You wanna lay down and relax while I top and pleasure you this time?" He asked. "It is your birthday after all."

"Not yet." He said with a glint of mischief in his eyes. "I wanna have some fun with you first."

Leo smiled and laid his head back allowing Raph to bring his mouth along his neck and lick and nip at him. Raph started rocking back and forth on top of him. They kissed deeply and Raph began to run his tongue along Leo's neck, his plastron and down in between his legs.

"Raph, stop." Leo said with a moan. Raph looked down at him. "Let me suck on you first, get you nice and hard."

Raph smiled and sat up. He helped Leo sit up and he laid down allowing Leo to make his way down along Raph's body, Raph dropped down and Leo played his tongue up and down along Raph's shaft. Teasing and tantalizing him. Tickling and playing his tongue gently and provocatively. He smiled as Raph churred and moaned. Leo finally shoved Raph all the way into his mouth and bobbed up and down.

Raph moaned and groaned as Leo got him hard and dripping wet. He then sat up and laid down on top of him. He kissed him hard and deep. "Tell me what you want." He told him.

"I wanna make you scream my name."

Leo sat up and lined his entrance up with Raph's cock and began to lube himself using Raph's precum. "Tomorrow, you get to scream my name." He said with a grin and a wiggle of his eye ridges. He forced Raph inside him and began to move himself up and down Raph's hard cock. Raph grabbed Leo's hips and helped him.

Leo gritted his teeth as Raph grew long and hard inside him. "Dammit Raph!" Leo cried out, throwing his head back and panting hard. "Why do you have to be so damn big!" He was in pain and his legs were starting to throb. How Raph managed to have such stamina Leo did not know, but he always managed to bring Leo to the brink of ecstasy several times throughout their lovemaking.

"You do it to me baby." Raph said with an evil grin, making Leo go faster. He gritted his teeth and kept himself from cumming. 'Not yet', he told himself, determined to make this last. He looked up and watched Leo, eyes closed, his mouth open, gasping and groaning in passionate pain. His churrs made Raph's heart soar. Leo grabbed Raph's hands as sweat poured down their bodies and they began to climax.

"OH GOD RAPH!" Leo cried out his erection getting painful. "I have to cum!"

"Do it Leo." Raph encouraged, grunting hard. "Let me see you go."

"AHHH" Leo cried out and shook his head. "I want you to cum with me."

"I'll be right behind you."

Leo couldn't hold back any longer. With a loud shout, he came hard over Raph's plastron. Raph kept his hands on Leo's hips and kept him slamming up and down on his hard cock. "Just a little bit longer." He said. He brought Leo down hard and finally filled Leo up with his seed. Leo laid down on top of Raph gasping in pain and ecstasy, his heart beating hard against his chest. Raph rubbed his shell as he calmed his breathing. Swallowing hard and wiping his hand across his forehead to wipe the sweat off his head.

"Oh wow Raph." Leo muttered. "How do you do it?"

Raph grinned. "I'm just that good." He chuckled.

Raph rolled the two over and they kissed hungrily. Leo moaned into Raph's mouth as Raph began to once again rock back and forth. He place Leo's hands above his head and Leo pressed his palms against the headboard and spread his legs as wide as possible, allowing Raph to slam into him as hard and deep as possible. It was both painful and erotic at the same time and Leo loved it. Their moans and churrs mingled together as they climaxed once again. They made love two more times that night and eventually fell into a nice deep sleep.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxEnd of Lemonxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

" _Leonardo_ "

Leo moaned and rolled over. He sighed deeply and yawned. Did he just hear a female voice call out to him or was he dreaming?

 _"Leonardo"._

Leo blinked his eyes open and looked around. He did hear a female voice, but how. His Aunt Irma was not due home till Sunday evening. He sat up and looked around.

 _"Leonardo, come to me my son."_

The voice was coming from the living room. He looked back at Raph who was still in a deep sleep and snoring softly. He had a slight smile on his face and his eyes twitched as he dreamed.

Leo got out of bed and walked into the living room, He looked around and at first saw nothing. But as he continued to look, he began to notice a white glowing mist in the corner taking the shape of what looked to him to be a turtle. His eyes widen and his breath caught in his throat as the apparition held a hand toward him.

 _"Leonardo, my son, hear me."_ Leo shook as he once again heard what he recognized as his mother's voice.

"Mother?" He choked out a sob and reached his hand toward her. "Is that really you?"

 _"Beware Leonardo. He is coming."_

"Who is coming?" Leo asked, his voice raising. "Who are you talking about?"

The phantom began to slowly sink back into the wall. _"Be aware, there is danger_ " The phantom slowly disappeared. _"I love you._ "

"Mother! NO! WAIT, PLEASE COME BACK." Leo ran to the spot where he saw the ghost fade away. He ran his hands over the wall and crumbled to the floor sobbing hard. "Don't leave me, please come back." He begged.

"Leo?" Raph's soft voice came up from behind and he placed a gentle hand on Leo's shoulder. "What's wrong, who were you talking to?" He asked, concern evident in his voice. He looked around wondering if someone else was here.

Leo turned and sobbed into Raph's shoulder. "My mother." He croaked out. "She was here, told me someone was coming that I had to beware of."

"Oh Leo." Raph soothe. "It was probably just a nightmare or something like that."

Leo shook his head. "No, I heard her, I saw her. It was her voice Raph." Leo wiped his eyes and stood up with Raph's help. "I know it was her."

"Okay Leo." Raph said, somewhat dubiously. He led him back into the bedroom and got them back into the bed. He wrapped his arms around him and rubbed his trembling arms. "Let's try to get some sleep and we'll talk about it in the morning."


	4. Chapter 4 Fast Forward Into the New Year

Ch 4 Fast Forward Into the New Year.

No matter how hard Raph tried to convince Leo the voice he heard was nothing more then a nightmare, Leo continued to insist it was real. But he let it go and continued with his life, all the while he continued to listen and look for the the ghostly apparition he was sure was his mother.

The days went fast and Leo did his best to ignore the glares he got from Mona while Raph continued to receive seductive ones. He kept telling himself Raph was with him and not her and it was Donnie who loved Mona, or so he thought.

Soon enough, Leo found himself decorating the dojo for Halloween. It amazed him how much Splinter and his sons were into parties and how they went out of their way to invite all Splinter's students to them.

"Wow!" Leo exclaimed when Raph brought up another box filled with Halloween decorations. "You guys sure like to go all out!"

Raph smiled and placed the box on the coffee table. He pulled out a large crinkly fake spider on a bouncy string. "Come on babe, get on the ladder and I'll hand it up to you."

Leo brought the ladder over with the tape. He climbed up and took the fake spider from Raph. As he brought his hands up to the ceiling, he jumped when he felt Raph's hands suddenly grab his ass and squeeze.

"Raph!" Leo shouted, trying to keep himself balanced on the ladder.

"Don't worry Leo, I've got you." He said, his voice a husky tone, his hands still squeezing. "Just put the spider up and I'll help you down when your done."

Easier said then done for Leo when he began to feel Raph's hands roam from his ass to the front of his jeans and start playing with the zipper. This caused Leo to freeze and quickly put his hands on the top of the ladder. "Raph!" Leo said nervously.

"It's okay Leo." Raph purred, trying to slide his hands inside Leo's zipper. "We're alone."

"Now now, not in front of the children." A voice called out.

Raph quickly removed his hands from Leo's jeans which caused Leo to yelp, and this time he did lose his balance and fall backwards into Raph's arms.

"Wow! good catch Raphie." Mikey called as he and Renet walked into the living room with big knowing smiles on their faces.

"Hey looks good." Renet smiled at the decorations as she placed several trays of food on a spare table in the living room.

"Smells good." Leo replied as Raph put him down. He blinked up at Raph and batted his eyes, "My hero." He sang mockingly and the two couples laughed.

"Have a costume yet Leo?" Mikey asked.

"Cowboy. You two?"

"Dr Prankenstein."

"And I'm going as Mrs. Prankenstein."Renet told him with a giggle.

"Don't you mean Frank...enstein?" Leo asked.

"Nope." Mikey suddenly got a mischievous grin. Leo gasped as a water balloon came flying toward him. Instinctively he ducked which allowed the balloon to hit Raph instead.

"Uh oh." Mikey's eyes widen and he let out a yell and broke into a run.

"MIKEY!" Raph yelled and began to chase after him. Leo and Renet laughed and continued with the decorations. The party went well and was over all to quickly. But soon enough, Leo found himself decorating once again for Donnie's birthday and a short two weeks later, for Mikey's Birthday.

"No wonder Master Splinter needed an assistant." Leo told Raph as he drove him to his apartment one night. "Between the classes and the parties, I'm exhausted."

"No worries babe." Raph told him. "Thanksgiving and Christmas are strictly for family."

"Oh goody, no more over the top decorating till New Year's then." Leo mockingly groused and then laughed as Raph brought him in for a good night hug and kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow Leo. Tell your aunt I said hi." They kissed one more time and Leo got out of the truck and into his apartment. The two decided a while ago that when Leo's aunt was home, out of respect for her Raph would not stay over on weeknights, which was no big deal since for the most part she was gone during the weekends and Raph would usually stay then. More then convenient for him since he did not have to go to school till Monday, so he would normally stay from Friday and leave after Irma got home on Sunday.

Just as Raph told him, Thanksgiving and Christmas was strictly a family affair and Leo was happy to be a part of it, along with his Aunt Irma who joined them for Thanksgiving since her boyfriend was out of town on business. Leo then spent Christmas eve with his aunt and then Christmas day with the Hamatos while his Aunt spent the day with her boyfriend.

Leo had never been happier, the parties were exciting and Splinter's students and family made Leo feel comfortable and at home. Los Angles had become a distant memory he no longer worried about. On New Year's eve, as the entire family decorated and watched the ball drop, Leo leaned his head on Raph's shoulder. "I never thought life would ever be this wonderful." He told him.

"I know what you mean." Raph whispered, wrapping his arms him. They watched as the ball dropped and the family, along with Renet and Mona counted down with the crowd on the TV and at midnight, the three couples shared a kiss. The two girls even gave Master Splinter a kiss on each cheek which caused him to blush a deep red. Afterwards, he bowed his thanks and bid everyone a good night.

"You should all get a good night sleep tonight." He told them. "Remember, tomorrow's party will be just as big as the last ones we've done." The four boys groaned knowing they had a lot more decorations to still put up.

"Well, it sounds like you boys still have a lot to do so we girls will say goodnight." Mona got up and walked over toward the door. "Renet, would like a ride home?"

"Thank you Mona." Renet said. Like Leo, she only lived a few blocks away, but it was cold and late out so a ride home was always nice. The two girls gave their boyfriends a kiss, and once again Leo couldn't help notice the looks Mona deliberately gave him and Raph, but they eventually took their leave and the boys continued to decorate for the New Year's Day party.

It was long after two in the morning before they were finally done and Raph suggested Leo stay the night. "After all, if you went home now, you'll wake up Aunt Irma and you'll never hear the end of you coming home late."

Leo smiled. His aunt did tend to coddle him a bit, but he didn't mind...too much and she knew he would be at the Hamato home long after midnight so he agreed to stay and Donnie went to make up the guest room.

"Why the guest room?" Raph asked. "He can stay with me."

"Okay Raph." Donnie looked at the two warily. "Just keep the noise to a minimum."

Raph growled as Leo blushed and Mikey laughed. "No worries Don." Leo told him, following Raph upstairs and into his room. "I'm too tired to do anything more then cuddle." He yawned and the four boys said their good nights.

"So, all you want to do is cuddle huh?" Raph asked as he joined Leo in bed. Leo nodded, he snuggled closer to Raph and yawned. "Okay then." Raph said. He started moving his hand down into Leo's shorts and kissing Leo's lips. Leo sleepily returned them and moved his legs slightly to allow Raph's hand to play with him. "Drop down Leo." Raph said in a husky voice, but Leo shook his head.

"I told Don we'd do nothing more then cuddle." Leo reminded him yawning.

"And we will." Raph said with a mischief grin. "Just drop down and we'll cuddle."

Leo smiled and dropped. Raph took Leo's shorts off and dropped down himself. The two started pumping each other, lazily at first. Raph wrapped his arm around Leo and brought him close. They moaned and churred into each other's mouths as quietly as possible. They began pumping each other faster and harder, pressing their lips hard against each other to stifle the noises that threatened to erupt from their throats. After several minutes of pleasuring themselves, they finally came in each other's hands then, after quickly cleaning themselves with a towel Raph had in his closet, they laid in each other's arms and fell into a deep peaceful sleep.

At six pm, the New Year's day party was in full swing, even Aunt Irma showed up with her boyfriend Vern Fenwick. Splinter watched happily as his guest talked, danced, laughed and wished each other a prosperous and happy new year.

He beamed proudly at seeing his sons, which as far as he was concerned now included Leo, wearing the beautiful matching shirts he had brought them all for Christmas. The shirts were long-sleeve buttoned dress shirts, of various colors. Blue for Leo, red for Raph, purple for Donnie and orange for Mikey. It made his heart soar to see his family, especially his oldest, looking so happy. It was something he had not seen in a long time.

All was going well until Donnie noticed three oriental looking youths with purple dragon tattoos on their arms, walk into the party. He quickly made his way over to Raph.

"Uh, excuse me Raph?" Raph excused himself from the guest he was talking to and turned to Donnie. "What are they doing here?" He pointed to the three men who were walking around with looks of anger and disgust.

"Oh Great!" Raph growled out. "The Purple Dragons." He started his way over to them. "What the hell do they want?"

"Raph, I thought you were no longer associating with them?" Donnie hissed angrily.

"I'm not!" Raph quietly yelled back.

At that moment, Leonardo was making his way out of the kitchen with some drinks for him and Raph. The two brothers watched as Leo ended up walking by the three youths. One of them, a tall thin dark hair boy with a shaved beard along his jawline stepped in front of him and blocked his path. He looked down at Leo with a malicious grin.

"Excuse me." Leo said as he tried to make his way around them, oblivious to the glare.

But the three party crashers would not stand aside. "Where ya going cutie?" He asked. Leo looked up at him, shocked and surprised by the guy's attitude. "You're new here, aren't you?" He sneered down at him.

"Step away from him Fong." Raph's voice cut through the noisy crowd. He made his way over to Leo and moved him away from the other. The two stared at each other, eyes blazing in anger.

"Well, well, well, Raphael." The one called Fong sneered. "We heard you were back in town." He stepped toward Raph, his hands clenching in fist. "Very disappointed you didn't invite your old friends to your little New Year's Eve bash."

"What's the matter raph?" A taller more muscular Dragon asked. "Ain't ya happy to see us?"

Fong looked between Raph and Leo and gave a knowing smile. "Oh, I get it guys. Gone back to your own species did ya." He laughed and moved closer to Leo who had put down the drinks preparing for a possible confrontation. "As well as your own gender." He sneered down at Leo who backed away from him, a look of uncertainty on his face . "When you get tired of him, you come and see me...after all, I taught him everything he knows." He leered back at Raph who was clenching his teeth. "Isn't that right Raphie boy?"

Raph was just about to charge when Leo and Donnie grabbed him and held him back.

"What is going on here?" Splinter, along with Mikey, Renet and Mona walked up to them. "You three are not welcomed here. Leave this place...now." He pointed to the door and stood tall over the three Purple Dragons.

"Come on guys," Fong told the other two. "We don't need to be in this lame place. Party sucks with all these mutant losers." They turned and walked out the door leaving the party goers whispering anxiously.

"Please everyone." Splinter held up his hands and addressed his guest. "Only a minor interruption. Please, continue to enjoy yourselves." The party continued and Leo then took Raph's arm and led him back to the kitchen.

"Wanna tell me what that was all about?" He demanded. "Who were those three and how do they know you?"

Raph looked at Leo and huffed angrily at him. "Look Leo, they're part of my past and you don't need to know..."

"Yes I do." Leo told him. "Those guys sounded like they had some sort of vendetta against you and you were clearly upset that they were here."

Raph sighed deeply. He placed his hands on Leo's shoulders and looked deeply into Leo's eyes. "Please Leo. Those guys are just a bunch of jerks that I use to go to high school with. Nothing more." He turned away and started to walk out the kitchen. "So just let it go."

Leo watched dumbfounded as he walked out. He rubbed his tired eyes and let out an annoyed huff. He was getting tired of just letting things go, but he loved Raphael and wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. So he once again decided to just accept his explanation and try to forget about the incident.

He followed Raph out the kitchen and was surprised to see Mona suddenly come up to Raph and grabbed him by the arm. She took him over to the corner to talk. Leo stared curiously and he could feel the anger rising within. He wondered over and could tell the words they spoke were heated. But when Mona saw Leo, she stopped speaking and began to wonder away. But not before giving Raph one last glare.

"You say you care for him, yet you do everything you can to hide who you really are from him Raphael." She snorted. "But I know who you really are, you have never been able to hide your true self from me."

Leo looked at the two of them in shock. Mona then looked toward Leo with a malicious glare before walking over to Donnie.


	5. Chapter 5 A Shot In the Dark

Ch 5 A Shot In The Dark

Leo sat up in bed quickly, his eyes darting around wildly. His heart raced and sweat poured down his face. He took a deep calming breath and forced himself to relax. The screams from the nightmare echoed in his head along with the frighting images of a building on fire. Throughout the strange dream, he kept hearing his mother's voice telling him to beware of someone coming after him.

Leo got out of bed and walked quickly to the living room, he made his way to the wall where he had seen his mother's apparition several weeks earlier. He smoothed his hand over the wall and thought back on that moment. "What are you trying to tell me mom?" He whispered to himself. "Who is coming, who must I beware of?" He closed his eyes and turned to walk back to his room.

As he made his way across the living room, voices from his Aunt's room made him stop. He looked over at the clock on the TV. It was just after one am and as far as he knew, since it was a school night, Vern had not stayed over. He silently walked over and pressed his ear to the door. Silence at first then...

"Can't you find someone else?" His aunt asked, she sounded anxious. Another long moment of silence. "How could you want to do this?" She whispered harshly. "He's just a boy and he's your son after all." More silence as the voice on the other end spoke. "You can't hold that over me forever, it was an accident after all." Leo could hear his aunt's breathing quicken. "Fine! But you need to give me more time, I can't do what you want right now." Another long moment of silence. "Please, just give me till school is out. I'll..." Silence again. Leo suddenly heard a loud bang and then the sound of his aunt sobbing. He wanted to knock on her door but something held him back.

The sound of his aunt leaving her bed and coming to her door had Leo quickly and silently making his way back to his room. He closed the door and made his way to his bed. He quickly got under the covers and turned his shell toward the door. He forced himself to remain calm and listened as footsteps from the hallway came toward his room. They stopped outside for a moment before turning away and making their way toward the kitchen.

He let out a breath and thought about the conversation he had overheard. Who would she be talking to this early in the morning? It sounded to him like she was in trouble and possibly being blackmailed. Should he speak to her about it? He shook his head and thought about his nightmare and his aunt. He supposed it could have something to do with her work but she was just a librarian. She wouldn't have anything to do with a student's work or anything like that, or so he thought. Leo took a deep breath and decided he would speak to Raph about it when he came home from school. Doing it before would only make him worry as well. He closed his eyes and attempted to go back to sleep.

At eight, Leo tried to make his way out his aunt's apartment without trying to see her. But no luck, his aunt was in the kitchen like always when he left.

"No breakfast Leonardo?" She called out to him.

He jumped slightly before composing himself and smiling at her. "Oh, I'm, uh, not really that hungry." He forced himself to stay calm. He noticed she gave him a curious look. "Um, see you tonight."

"Don't forget your Valentine's day present for Raphael." She reminded him. "It's on the table."

Leo's eyes widen, he had forgotten today was Valentine's day. He made his way to the kitchen to get the present. His aunt was seated at the table drinking coffee and staring in the distance. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Are you okay hon?" She looked at him strangely. "You look a little more green then usual."

Leo laughed nervously. "I'm fine auntie...are, um, you okay?" He wanted so desperately to ask her about the phone call he overheard.

Irma let out a huge sigh and got a far away look in her eyes. "I'm fine sweetheart." She told him. She looked at him again and smiles."It's just there is so much to think about with Vern." She looked down at her coffee. "He was married once before and now he's talking marriage with me but there's so much with him and his son going on." She shook her head. "I just don't know if I'm ready for it yet."

Leo nodded. It made sense he supposed, but there was so much more to the phone call that didn't sound right. The way she sounded last night did not sound like someone deciding to marry or not. No, Leo knew there was something else.

"Well, you better get going if your going to see Raphael before he has to get to school." Irma's voice brought him out of his musings.

He looked up and saw it was five after eight. "Oh yeah, bye auntie." He grabbed the brightly red wrapped box off the table and quickly took off. He hadn't noticed the frown on his aunt's face as he ran out the door.

He stepped outside and shivered slightly. He looked up at the sky and frowned. It was a very cold February day, it was also very dismal. As much as he liked New York and the east coast, he was tired of the cold and hated how short the days were. The darkness came all too soon and he found himself craving the sunshine. Spring would be here soon, he told himself, walking quickly, and maybe then he would start looking for a place to call his own. He loved his aunt but something just didn't sit right with what was going on, and it was making him very nervous. He got to Raph's home in record time and as always, Raph was waiting in the family truck for him. He smiled when he saw him and was just about to get out when Leo waved at him to stay inside.

"Sorry I'm late." He said breathing hard, he ran up to the driver side window and stuck his head in. He gave him a quick kiss. "Can we talk when you get home?"

Raph smiled. "Don't we always?"

Leo shook his head. "I mean really talk." He stressed. "I need to speak with you, it's important."

Raph frowned. "Sure Leo." He told him. "I'll see you at four thirty like always and we'll talk."

Leo nodded, gave Raph another kiss and went inside. He tried to act like all was fine throughout the day but Splinter could see there was something on his mind. After the last class, as always, Leo cleaned the dojo. He was just finishing up when Splinter came in.

"Leonardo, my son." Leo smiled and looked over at Splinter. No one ever called him 'son' before and he loved hearing it. Splinter walked in with two cups of hot tea on a tray. He sat down on the floor and waved his hand in front of him motioning for Leo to join him.

Leo did as told and sat across from Splinter. "You wish to speak with me Sensei?"

"You seem distracted Leonardo." Splinter gazed at him curiously. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm not sure Sensei." Leo confessed. "I was going to talk with Raph when he got home about something going on at home." He took a sip and looked away. "It may have something to do with Aunt Irma and possibly Vern."

Splinter smiled and nodded. "It's always hard when two people want more out of a relationship." He said chuckling. Leo nodded and smiled. He decided to just let Splinter continue thinking that way.

They finished their tea and went out into the living room where Donnie, Mona, Mikey and Renet were setting up for the party. It was just going to be them since it was a weekday and everyone had either school or work the next day, but still, they went all out. Raph would be home soon and Leo looked forward to talking to him. There was so much confusion he needed to deal with.

A few minutes later, Raph walked into the living room, Leo ran over to him and kissed him deeply. "Can we talk somewhere privately?" He asked eagerly.

Raph looked at Leo nervously. "Uh, can you give me just a moment. I just want to go clean myself up a bit." He began to walk over to the kitchen. He smiled back at Leo who was following him. "You just stay here, I'll be back in a moment." Leo frowned as Raph started toward the stairs. He turned back to join the others who were laughing and talking about their day. No one noticed Mona sneaking into the kitchen after Leo came out.

Mikey had just placed a tray of snacks on the table and was fixing it up when he realized he had forgotten to put paprika on the deviled eggs. "I'll get it." Leo told them. In the kitchen, directly across from the stairs was a walk-in pantry with a door. Leo went in leaving the door slightly ajar so he could listen for Raph, and began his search for the paprika.

Meanwhile, Mona had walked up the stairs and bumped into Raph coming down, a small box wrapped in blue paper with a red ribbon on top was in his hands.

"Raphael." Mona stepped aside and let him pass. "I was hoping to talk with you."

"Sorry Mona." Raph told her. "I need to talk to Leo."

Mona looked at the box in Raph's hand. "Please Raphael, please hear me out first and if after we're done talking you still wish to speak with Leonardo, then I promise you I'll step aside for good."

Raph looked at her and huffed. "I thought you loved Donnie." He said as they entered the kitchen.

"No Raphael." Mona said, she grabbed his arm and brought his face close hers. "You know that is not true." She looked deep into his eyes and leaned close. "You and I were always meant to be together, we know each other inside and out. Our secrets, our past. We don't hide from each other like you do with Leo." Mona searched Raph's face. "Do you not remember our first Valentine's day?" She asked. "You told me you would always be grateful for what I did for you."

"I remember Mona but..."

Mona put a finger on Raph's lips. "I meant what I said Raphael. I love you, and you know I've always loved you." She place a hand on his cheek. "And somewhere inside your heart, I know you still love me too." She pressed her lips to his and gave him a passionate kiss.

"Mona." Raph groaned into her mouth and leaned into the kiss. He suddenly realized what he was doing and was just about to push her away when a loud voice could be heard coming into the kitchen.

"Hey Leo, did you find the paprika?" Donnie's voice startled them apart and Raph's eyes widen in fear when he saw Leo standing just outside the pantry, tears running down his face. Donnie walked in and upon seeing Leo, turned to see what he was looking at. Hurt, anger and shock crossed his face as Leo let the spice drop to the floor and run past him.

"Ah crap!" Raph yelled and ran after him. "LEO WAIT!"

Mona and Donnie stood still, staring at each other. She had planned on telling Donnie but not till after she knew she and Raph were going to be together. But now it was too late. Now, the hurt look on Donnie's face was more then she could bare. She placed a hand over her mouth to stifle the sobs and ran past him.

Out in the living room, Splinter, Mikey and Renet watched in bewilderment as Leo, tears falling from his face, ran out of the kitchen followed by Raph. Leo grabbed the door leading to the outside, just as he attempted to to open it, Raph grabbed his arm.

"Leo, please let me talk to you." Raph begged.

"Let me go Raph!" Leo cried, trying to wrestle himself out of Raph's grip.

"Not till you talk to me." Raph demanded. Suddenly, all occupants in the room gasped as Raph went flying across the room after being thrown over Leo's shoulder.

"I said let me go!" Leo screamed again. He got the door open and ran outside into the frozen night. A few seconds later, Mona followed, tears also falling down her face. Donnie slowly came out of the kitchen, a dumbfounded look on his face. He turned and watched as Raph slowly got to his feet with the assistance of Mikey and Splinter. The two stared at each other, anger evident in Donnie's eyes.

"Dudes, I don't know what's going on, but you need to go after them!" Mikey exclaimed.

Donnie shook his head. "I'm done Mikey." He turned away from the family. "So is Mona."

Mikey looked from Donnie to Raph. "What about you Raph?" He asked. "Aren't you going after Leo?"

Raph shook his head. He looked down and saw on the floor the small blue wrapped box. He bent down and picked it up, shame in his eyes. He walked over to the table and saw a bright red box with his name on it. He stared up at Mike in confusion and disbelief, uncertain what to do at this time.

"Well I am!" Mikey ran out of the house determined to get Leo to come back.

Leo walked down the street, tears steaming from his eyes, his body shaking as he sobbed hard. He was so consumed with anger and hurt he failed to notice the sound of footsteps coming up behind him. As he passed an alleyway, a large hand was suddenly placed over his mouth and an even larger arm wrapped around him tightly. He was dragged into the alley and forced down on a mattress. His hands quickly grabbed and forced over his head with someone heavy leaning on them with their knees while their hands held down his wrist, another person sat on his chest while a third sat on his legs.

"Let me go!" He screamed out. He attempted to struggle out of his captors grasp but they held him down tight.

"Get his pants off!" A familiar voice said.

"I'm trying." The one on Leo's legs replied.

"Open your mouth turtle, let me show you what a real man taste like." The first voice said.

"Yeah bitch, we've got a message for your boyfriend." A third voice said. "You tell him no one says no to the Purple Dragons."

Leo could feel the one at his legs fighting to pull his pants and boots off him, he wanted to scream out but the sound of a zipper being pulled down in front of his face made him keep his jaw clenched shut. He continued to struggle but to no avail. His attackers had taken him completely by surprised and held him down hard.

He felt his boots come off and then his pants slide down. He began to whimper as rough hands began to rip his shorts apart. He again tried to fight the man at his legs by thrashing them about but a hard slap across the face caused him to momentarily stop struggling allowing his would be rapist to pull the shorts down.

Leo kept his mouth clenched shut and thrashed his head back and forth as the man at his hands and the one on his chest continued to slap him repeatedly in an attempt to get him to open his mouth. At one point, his attacker's hand managed to get in between his lips and Leo opened his mouth and bit down hard, tasting blood. The dragon he bit cursed loudly and pulled his hand roughly out of Leo's mouth. "Damn you slut!" The dragon pulled his fist back and slammed it down hard on Leo's cheek. Leo's head swam and he could feel darkness closing in around him as rough hands began to pull on his tail and another pair of rough hands pinch his mouth open. He had all but given up hope when a sudden yell sounded throughout the alley.

"GET OFF OF HIM YOU BASTARDS!" Mikey heard the commotion and flung himself at the PD on Leo's legs. Leo felt the pressure lift off and he continue to fight and try to force the men on his chest and hands to get off him.

Mikey finished with the one dragon and pushed the other two off Leo. He took a moment to check on Leo to make sure he was okay. As he did, a sudden loud bang sounded throughout the alley, it was followed by a flash of bright light and Mikey suddenly fell into Leo's arms. "MIKEY!" Leo screamed while the purple dragons took off. He began to frantically search for his cell phone with one hand while he kept his other pressed against the bullet wound on Mikey's head.


	6. Chapter 6 Conversations in a Hospital

Ch 6 Conversations in a Hospital

Splinter, Donatello and Raphael raced through the doors of the hospital, making their way quickly to the nurse's station. The nurse looked up at them as they stopped in front of her. "Please, nurse, my name is Hamato Yoshi, I was told my son Michelangelo was brought here with..."

"Please sir calm down." The nurse told him sternly. "Your son was brought in and is currently in surgery." She looked at him with sincerity in her eyes. "The doctor will be out as soon as he's done and let you know how he's doing."

"Please, is there anything you can tell me about my son now?" He asked, choking back a sob. "Anything at all."

Before the nurse could respond, a voice called out to him. "Master Splinter!"

Splinter turned at the calling of his name, relieved to see Leonardo's aunt walking quickly toward them. She gathered him in a hug and cried silently.

"Ms Langinstein." Splinter pulled her back and led her to a row of seats. "Can you tell me what happened?" He took her hands in his as they sat down. "All the police will tell me is that Michelangelo was hurt helping Leonardo."

Irma took out a tissue and wiped her eyes then blew her nose. She shook her head and tried to gather herself to talk. Raph and Donnie sat down behind Splinter and watched her anxiously waiting for her to speak.

"Oh Splinter." She sobbed. "Thank goodness your here." She took a deep breath and attempted to tell them what she had learned. "I've spoken with Leonardo and he told me he was attacked by those ruffians, The Purple Dragons." She shook her head again. "They beat him and tried to...to..." She took a deep breath. "They tried to force themselves on him and Michelangelo stopped them." She shook as she spoke. "Oh Splinter, they shot him!" Splinter and the boys gasped in horrified shock while Irma cried into Splinter's shoulder. "He tried to stop them from raping Leonardo and they shot him!" She cried out and grabbed another tissue.

Splinter suddenly leaned very heavily against the chair he was sitting in. His breathing quickened and his eyes filled with tears at the thought of his youngest being shot. He leaned forward heavily and placed his head in his hands, his body shaking with uncontrollable sobs. Donnie and Raph stared at each other in disbelief. Raph clenched his fist in anger at the thought of his brother and Leo being assaulted and almost killed by the Purple Dragons.

Raph looked up at Irma. "Ms Langinstien?" She looked over at him. "How's Leo?" He asked anxiously. "Can I see him?"

Irma closed her eyes and took a breath again. "Leonardo is really shaken Raphael." She told him. "They beat him up pretty bad." She began to cry again. "They told him they wanted him to give you a message. Something about not saying 'no' to them."

Raph stood up and growled loudly. He began to shake and tears fell from his face. He clenched his fist and began to walk away. "I'm gonna kill those bastards!" He screamed.

"Raphael!" Splinter stood up and grabbed Raph's arm holding him back. "You will do no such thing!" He told him. "You will stay here and be with your family. Allow the police to do their job and bring them in." He turned to Irma and took a calming breath. "Is Leonardo going to be okay?"

Irma nodded. "He'll be fine, he's speaking with the police now and the doctor who checked him out wants him to stay the night for observation."

"Ms Langinstein." Raph turned back to her. "Can I please see him?" He begged. "I need to tell him..."

"Mr. Hamato?" They turned to see a doctor in green scrubs walking toward the group.

Splinter quickly walked over to him. "Yes, is this about my son, Michelangelo?"

The doctor nodded. "He's out of surgery and I"m happy to say he'll be fine. He's a very lucky boy." The doctor told them. "The bullet hit his temple and although there was a lot of blood, no severe damage was done." The group let out a collected sigh. "He's being moved to the recovery room." He continued. "You'll be able to see him in a few minutes. We'd like to keep him for at least a week to make sure there is no additional trauma."

Splinter nodded and sat back in his chair. Exhaustion set in and he put his face in his hands and once again began to sob. Raph and Donnie sat on either side of him and held him tight, tears rolling down their faces as they too finally gave into their relief.

"Raphael." Irma put a hand on his shoulder and gave a gentle smile. "I'll let Leonardo know you would like to see him, but for now, go be with your brother." He nodded and the three Hamatos got up and followed the doctor to Mikey's room.

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Irma cautiously walked into Leonardo's room, the police were still there and questioning him. Leo shook as he attempted to recall the nightmarish attack.

"Where were you coming from again son?" One officer asked.

Leo took a breath. "My boy...a friend's house." He said quickly, his eyes lowered.

"Can I get this friend's name?"

"Raphael Hamato."

The officers exchanged looks. "Was it his brother who helped you?"

Leo choked back a sob. "Yes." He said, tears once again falling from his eyes. "Michelangelo."

One officer shook his head. "Huh, I thought that Raphael kid cleaned up his act." He looked at the other cop. "Haven't heard of anything from him in almost two years."

The other one shook his head. "Things happen." He muttered. They turned back to Leo who was looking up at them in surprise. "Are you sure the ones who attacked you were the Purple Dragons?" Leo nodded. "Would you be willing to pick them out of a line-up and press charges?" Again, Leo nodded. The officers finished with their report. "Good, we'll be in touch." They told him. They left his room with a nod and Leo leaned back against his bed and closed his eyes.

"Leonardo?" Leo opened his eyes and smiled nervously as he saw Irma walking in. She smiled down at him and gently stroked his bruised cheeks. Leo's face was swollen from the beatings, both eyes black and blue. His right arm was in a sling and both wrist were wrapped in bandages.

"Hi Auntie." He greeted her, attempting to stay calm. "How's Mikey?"

"He'll be fine. The doctor just spoke with the Hamatos and he came out of the surgery a little while ago. Their with him now."

Leo nodded and closed his eyes. "I'm tired auntie." He told her. "I think I'd like to just rest now."

"Raphael was hoping to see you." Irma told him.

Leo slowly shook his head. "I can't see him right now." He didn't try to hide the tears that rolled down his face. "Please, just tell him to leave me alone for now...please."

Irma placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it tenderly before leaving his room.

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Splinter, Raph and Donnie stood over Mikey's bed. His head was bandaged and his eyes had dark circles under them. Splinter bent down and kissed his son gently on the forehead. He placed a gentle paw on his head, careful not to brush against the wound. Mikey weakly opened his eyes and smiled up at his family.

"Hey guys." He said weakly.

"Oh my son." Splinter sobbed as he gently hugged his youngest. "We were so scared."

"Hey ya knucklehead." Raph said placing a gentle hand on the top of his baby brother's head. "You may think you have a hard head but it's not hard enough to stop a bullet."

Mikey nodded. "Just wanted to make sure." He joked and gave a slight chuckle.

"How are you feeling Mikey?" Donnie asked, wiping hid eyes.

"Like I have a headache the size of Canada and it's still getting bigger." He smiled. Then winced from the throbbing. "Is Leo okay?"

Splinter and the other turtles nodded. "He'll be okay Mikey." Donnie told him. "He's been taken care of and their keeping him for the night."

"What about Renet?" He asked. "Is she here?" He gave a hopeful grin. "Ladies love it when a hero gets hurt."

"After you left, she went after Mona to see if she was okay." Raph told him. "She doesn't even know."

"We'll call her tomorrow and bring her by after she gets home from work." Donnie added.

MIkey nodded then yawned. "Get some sleep my son." Splinter told him. He gently rubbed his paw over Mikey's head like he use to when he was a child. "We'll stay with you while you sleep." Mikey nodded again and closed his eyes. Feeling his Sensei's smoothing fingers along his forehead helped him to relax.

Raph took Donnie's arm and let him out of the room. They stood just outside the door. Donnie looked at Raph waiting for him to speak.

"I'm sorry Don." Raph told him, his eyes lowered in shame. "But please, don't be angry with Mona." He looked back up at him. "It wasn't her fault, I should have just told her straight up a long time ago it was over." He looked at him tenderly. "If you love her then..."

"Raph stop." Donnie told him. "For your information, I'm not angry with Mona, she never even wanted to be with me." He gave a heavy sigh. "She only went out with me because she was waiting for you to come home and by dating me, she was hoping it would give her a chance to still get to you." He rubbed a tired hand over his face. "And I kinda knew about it all along." He shook his head and glared at Raph. "But I am angry with you." He told him.

Raph looked at him in shock. "Me? Why me?" He demanded. "What did I do?"

"The way you've been treating Leo!" He almost yelled at him. "How could you do that to him?"

Raph held his hands up. "Now just a minute Donnie." He took a step back. "I didn't do anything to Leo. He didn't give me a chance to explain and then, to top it off, he throws me over his shoulder when all I wanted to do was talk about what he did see!" Raph growled at him.

Donnie could practically see the steam rising from Raph's ears. But he didn't back down. "I'm not talking about what happened tonight." He explained. Raph gave him a curious look. "Since Leo first met Mona he's been aware of something between you two, and every time he ask you!" He pointed his finger at Raph's chest. "You blow him off!" He leaned his head in close to Raph's till they were practically touching. "You've never told him the whole truth and for what reason Raph." Donnie looked at him accusingly. "He has the right to know, especially if you want this relationship to go somewhere." Donnie stepped back and took a calming breath. "Unless this is just another one of your pathetic romps..."

"It's not Don." Raph quickly whispered. He pulled out the small blue wrapped box. "I bought this a while back and picked it up on my way home from school. I was going to give it to him today." Raph looked down at it sadly. "I wanted to let him know that I wanted our relationship to be something more."

"Raph...were you...were you going to propose?" Donnie asked, his eyes lighting up.

Raph smiled and shrugged. "Something along that idea." He told him.

"Then talk to him." Donnie urged. "He wouldn't have gotten so upset and run off like that if he knew the truth." Raph nodded and placed a hand on Donnie's shoulder.

"Thanks Don." He walked toward Leo's room, hoping he'd be able to speak with him. But when he got to the room, Irma was outside the door, speaking with the doctor. He waited till they were done before walking up to her and asking again if he could see Leo.

"I'm sorry Raphael." She looked at him with pity in her eyes. "He doesn't want to see you."

Raph hung his head and sighed. "Can you tell him to call me as soon as possible then. Please Mrs. Langinstien, I really need to talk to him about...about everything." His eyes pleaded with her.

Irma smiled and patted his shoulder. "I'll let him know, but you must let him come to you okay Raphael." She told him sternly.

Raph watched as she opened the door to Leo's room and went in. He took a quick peak inside before the door closed and gasped when he saw Leo laying in his bed. The bruises and bandages that littered his body was more then Raph had expected. He took a deep calming breath and headed back toward Mikey's room, one thought going through his mind, "I'm gonna kill those bastards."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mikey opened his eyes as his door slowly opened. It was long after visiting hours and his family had long since said their goodbyes to him. He smiled when he saw Leo peek in and smile at him. He walked quietly over to Mikey and looked down at him with tears forming in his eyes.

"Hey Leo." Mikey said.

"How ya doing?" Leo said, fighting back a sob.

Mike took Leo's hand and gave a gentle squeeze. "I'll be fine. How bout you?"

Leo opened his mouth to speak but instead his body lurched forward and the tears began to flow freely. He put a hand to his mouth to hold back the sobs, but instead they came full force. He leaned into Mikey's shoulder and cried hard. Mikey wrapped his arm around Leo and let him cry.

"It's okay Leo." He soothed. "We're both okay."

Leo nodded and sat back up. "When I saw your head covered with blood... _sob_...oh God Mike." Leo took a deep breath to try and calm himself. "I thought you were..."

"But I'm not bro." Mikey told him. "The doc says I'm fine and I'll be out after a week." He smiled at Leo and gave a small laugh."Besides, I've gotten worse from Raph."

Leo wiped his eyes and smiled back. "I don't think Raph has ever shot you before though."

"No but I'm sure he's wanted to." The two boys laughed lightly and Leo seemed to relax a little. "Thank you for saving my life." He told him. "Doc say I'm okay and I'll be leaving tomorrow." He told him.

Mikey nodded. "I'm sorry for what you went through Leo." He told him.

"Not half as sorry as I am for what you went through." He whispered and looked away from him. "My aunt wants me to stay home for a while. I guess it's a good idea."

"It is Leo." Mikey told him. Leo looked up at him and nodded. "Take some time and get yourself together, then please talk to Raph." He begged.

Leo looked down. "I...I don't know Mike." He looked away shamefully.

"Leo, I know what happened." Mikey told him. "But you don't know the whole story." Leo looked away again and gnawed on his lower lip. "Just give Raph a chance to speak with you." Leo shook his head. "Please Leo." Mike implored.

"I just need some time Mike." Leo told him. "He really hurt me."

"And he's really sorry." Mikey took Leo's hand in his. "Raph loves you Leo." They stared at each other for a moment. "Please bro, give him a chance."

Leo smiled at the endearment Mikey used. Both Raph's brothers had begun to feel like his brother's as well and the thought of losing them as well as losing Raph was heartbreaking to him, but he couldn't yet get past what he saw. He gave Mikey another hug. "Tell Sensei I'll be back to work soon. I just need sometime."

Mikey wondered if he meant that about Raph or his job. But he nodded anyway and watch Leo walk out his room.


	7. Chapter 7 Raph's Tale

Ch 7 Raph's Tale

 _Beeb_

 _"Leo, I know your there, please pick up...Sigh...Okay. Please call me. I miss you." Click_

 _Beeb._

 _"Leo, will you please speak to me. I need to talk to you. I...I love you." Click_

 _Beeb._

 _"Leo, I'm not giving up on us. Please call me back." Click_

 _Beeb._

 _"Leo, I've left message after message. Will you please call me back and stop acting like this! I don't deserve this and you know it!" Click._

"Raphael has left several messages Leonardo." Irma walked over to the kitchen table and sat down across from Leo. "Why don't you call him?"

"I can't just yet Auntie." Leo looked up at her with sad eyes. "I just need more time."

"Leonardo, you've had a week to deal with what he did." She scolded. "Raphael is right, he doesn't deserve this." She took a sip of her coffee. "And you don't either, you've been moping around here completely miserable. You need to talk to him."

Leo took a heavy sigh. "I love him." He admitted to her. "But now I'm not sure where I want this relationship to go."

"What do you mean hon?"

"I don't know if I can trust him Auntie." Leo explained. "He's been lying about so much..."

"Lying or just not admitting his past?"

"Is there a difference?"

"Yes there is." Irma stressed. "Did you know I was married before?"

Leo looked up at her. "I kinda had a hunch." He admitted. "I figured you were just divorced. What happened?"

Irma looked down sadly at her coffee and Leo felt rather embarrassed. "Sorry auntie, I didn't mean to pry."

"No, it's okay." She assured him. "It's been almost ten years and it still kinda hurts to talk about it."

"He passed away?" She nodded. "How?"

"He was killed."

"Oh Aunt Irma." Leo looked at her horrified. "I'm so sorry."

She smiled at him tenderly. "It's okay, I've put it behind me. But that's a part of my past that meant nothing to you til now right?"

"I guess so."

"Did it matter before?"

"No, but if it was to affect my future, shouldn't I know about it."

Irma chucked. "I guess so, but whose to say when and if that's going to happen?"

Leo smiled. "I suppose you're right." He admitted. "You sound a bit like Master Splinter."

They laughed then Irma got serious. "We all make mistakes sweetie, you just need to learn how to forgive those mistakes before you regret what happens when you don't."

Leo nodded and sighed. "I'll talk to Raph Auntie, soon but not yet, I'm just not ready."

 _Ding Dong_

Irma patted his hand, got up from the kitchen table and walked over to her apartment door. Leo, thinking it was Raph, quickly got up from the table and went to his room. He thought about what his aunt had just said and decided he should at least go back to work. he would see where things went when he got there. Both he and his aunt had been home from work since he came home from the hospital almost a week ago. Physically, he was fine, the bruises and scars had almost vanished and the bandages had come off, even the sling was no longer necessary.

Mentally, he was exhausted. He had wrestled with himself over what to do. His aunt had not had any further strange phone calls in the night, at least, not that he was aware of, and he did miss Raph something awful. He was finding it hard to sleep and every night, he would get up and make his way to the living room and stare at the wall where he was sure he had seen his mother's spirit. Occasionally, he would creep to his aunt's door and listen, but he would hear nothing and he was beginning to think maybe he had been mistaken about what he thought he heard, and seen.

A knock on his door brought him out of his thoughts. He looked up at his Aunt who was opening the door and poking her head in. "It's Michelangelo." She told him. "He wants to speak with you, will you speak with him?" She looked at him with a stern look that told him to get his ass out of his room and come and talk.

Leo stood up and went out to the living room where Mikey sat. He still had his head wrapped but he definitely looked so much better. Leo smiled and walked over to him. Mikey stood and they gave each other a hug and sat on the couch.

"How have you been?" Mikey asked.

"I think I should be asking you that." Leo said with a chuckle. He turned serious. "I've been fine. You?"

Mikey nodded. "Doing good. Going back to work next Monday. Apparently I'm very missed." He chuckled. "Lot's of kids not happy that Cowabunga Carl has taken some time off." He sighed deeply. "And I miss not being there." He gave Leo a stern look. "When are you going back to work. Sensei really misses you." He lowered his eyes. "And so does Raphie."

Leo nodded. "I know he does Mike." He told him. "The forty something messages he's left pretty much was a good clue."

"Then call him!" Mikey almost shouted. "Come back to work." He urged. "Stop being such a baby about everything and get back into life."

Leo looked at Mikey wide-eyed, surprised by his sudden outburst. He then relaxed and smiled. "Okay Mike." He laid a gentle hand on Mike's arm. "I'll be there on Monday." Mikey relaxed and grinned at him. "But no promises that I'll speak with Raph right away." He quickly added.

Mikey shook his head. "Just give him a chance Leo. Please."

Leo nodded and laid his head against the back of the couch. "I will. Soon. I promise." They sat in silence for a moment. Finally, Leo turned to Mikey. "So how is Renet?" He asked. "What happened when she found out about..." He swallowed hard and his voice trialed off.

Mikey smiled wide. "Ah wow Leo, the next day when she came to the hospital, she was all over me." He laughed. "I never knew being hurt could be so enjoyable. She brought me goodies to eat, stayed with me and fluffed my pillow, made me comfortable." He laid back and smiled. "It was nice to be pampered." He looked serious for a moment. "I'm really going to have to find a way to pay her back though. She was so scared for me."

Leo nodded, thinking of how his aunt felt when she first saw him and heard about Michelangelo. "Have the police called you down yet?"

"Yeah, and I was happy to do it. Especially since Raph has been threatening to go after them. At this point, they're safer in jail." He joked. "But I'm looking forward to putting those jackasses away for good." He said with anger in his eyes.

"Yeah, me too." Leo agreed. "Hopefully for good." They talked for a few more minutes then Mikey said goodbye and left.

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Raph zipped up his jacket against the cold and stood by his truck. He stared down the street waiting once again for Leo to come to work. He had been doing this for the last week and a half, but no matter how long he stood and stared, Leo never showed up. He looked at the time on his cell phone, eight thirty five. He had to leave now if he wanted to get to school before nine. He took a deep breath, got into the warm truck and drove off.

Leo arrived at the Hamato household at eight forty five, certain Raph would be gone by then. After all this time, he still couldn't bring himself to face him. He made his way into the home and was immediately greeted by Splinter.

"Leonardo my son." Splinter greeted him. "How are you doing?"

Leo greeted him back. "Much better thank you Sensei." He bowed respectfully to him. "I apologize for not being here before now."

"You needed time to heal and rest." Splinter placed a gentle paw on Leo's shoulder. "But I am glad you are back as I know many of our students will be." He said with a smile.

Leo smiled back, he was just about to walk toward the dojo when two voices called to him.

"LEO!" He turned to see Donnie and Mikey coming toward him with big smiles. "Ah yeah dude!" Mikey said, giving Leo a big hug. "I knew you'd be back."

"It's good seeing you again Leo." Donnie told him as he also gave him a hug. "How have you been?"

"I've been better." Leo looked at Donnie sadly. "How about you?" He asked. "Were you able to speak with Mona and patch things up?"

"Mona and I called it quits a long time ago Leo." He explained. "I think she was hanging with me just to get to Raph."

Leo nodded and looked down at the floor before giving him a sad smile. "I'm sorry Don."

"It's okay Leo, it's been coming for a while now." Donnie said. "Did you talk to Raph?"

Leo looked away and shook his head. "I need more time." He told them

"Dude!" Mikey pointed a finger at Leo which made him back up a bit. "You've had time, any longer and Raph may decide to call it quits."

"Yeah Leo." Donnie chimed in. "You love Raph and Raph loves you." He shook his head. "What's the problem?"

"I don't know." Leo moaned. "I guess I...I feel ashamed for what happened." He lowered his eyes. "I just can't face him right now."

Donnie and Mikey exchanged looks and nodded at each other. "Okay Leo." Donnie clapped his hand on Leo's shoulder. "But don't wait too long, okay." He waved a hand at everyone. "Off to work, see you at four."

"Yeah, Renet's gonna be here any moment, see you later." Mikey quickly took off.

Leo watched them go, a hint of amusement in his eyes. "They're up to something." He muttered to himself.

The day went well and Leo was happy to be back, and his students were ecstatic to see him back. They quickly fell back into their routine and before Leo knew it, it was four and the last class was over. He gathered his things and cleaned the dojo, it only took fifteen minutes and he was ready to go home.

He bade farewell to Splinter and was just about to walk out the door when he heard a voice call to him.

"Hey Leo." It was Mikey. "Aren't you staying for dinner?" He poked his head out the kitchen door and smiled. "I'm making your favorite. A pizza with jelly beans, jalapeno and anchovies. Um um."

Leo cringed. "I believe that's your favorite Mikey." He told him with a small chuckle. "But I can't stay, I have to get home and...um...do some stuff."

Mikey gave him a dubious look. "Really Leo?" He shook his head. "Your just trying to avoid Raph."

"I just can't face him right now Mike."

"Okay, but can you do me just one favor before you go."

"Sure."

"My hands are covered with pizza dough and I forgot to get the crushed red pepper. Could you get it for me please."

Leo walked further into the kitchen and went into the pantry. He looked at the shelf that held all Mikey's seasonings but could not find the one he was looking for."Where is it Mi..."

CLICK

Leo whirled around at the sound of the door closing and gasped. Standing in front of him was Raphael, a look of anger and hurt on his face. "How long are you going to keep punishing me?" He demanded.

Leo blinked at him, stunned and unable to find his voice. He pushed past him and tried to open the door but it was locked.

"Damn it Mikey!" He banged on the door. "Let me outta here."

"Not till you two talk!" Mikey told him from the other side.

"MIKEY!" Leo rattled the door hard.

"Sorry Leo." Mikey chirped. "I have a pizza to make and family to serve, you two have fun."

Raph walked over to Leo and put his hands on Leo's shoulders. Leo shuddered at the touch he missed so badly. "Hear me out Leo. If after I'm done talking, you still want to go, then I'll have Mikey let you out." He spoke quietly and soothingly.

Leo took a deep breath as he felt Raph's breath ghost across his neck. "I...I thought...you weren't going to be home till after four thirty?"

"Last class is an easy one." Raph told him. "I turned in my paper and left instead of staying for the lecture."

Leo nodded but refused to turn around. He leaned his head against the door and swallowed hard. "Why couldn't you just tell me the truth about you and Mona?" He asked. "If you loved her..."

"I never loved her Leo." Raph took a deep breath and walked over to the end of the pantry and sat down. "I've never loved her the way she wanted me to."

Leo finally turned around and looked over at Raph. "I don't need to know your whole past Raph, but you knew Mona was going to be here, you could've at least told me more about her and you." Leo sighed hard. "I find out about you two on valentine's day, you and the purple dragons on New Year's, and I find out you had a bit of past with the police!" Leo leaned against the door and looked up at the ceiling, his eyes filled with tears. "Is there anything else I SHOULD know about?"

Raph looked at him and shook his head. "It's a long story so sit down and I'll tell you about it."

Leo sighed and finally walked over to Raph, he sat down and gave Raph his full attention.

"You know my mom died when my bros and I were about seven." Leo nodded. "After that, I just never really accepted her death. She was the only one who really understood me and I missed her something fierce, still do. So I started becoming more of a troubled kid, gave Sensei and my bros a real hard time. Skipped school, let my grades slide." Raph shook his head. "Eventually, I started hanging with the wrong kinda crowd."

"The purple dragons." Leo commented.

Raph nodded. "Hooked up with them in middle school and first two years of high school, and yeah, we screwed each other." Leo looked down in disgust. "Trust me, I'm not happy about it. When I was in tenth grade, They got me into drugs and alcohol." Raph leaned his head back against the wall and Leo saw a tear roll down his cheek. "I met Mona at that time and she tried to help me turn my life around. Then I...we...me and the purple dragons, did a stupid thing." Raph closed his eyes as the memory came back to him. "We were driving around town late one night and eventually went into a liquor store. I thought we were just getting something to drink." Raph gave a light chuckle. "Fong had a fake ID. I went to the back of the store to grab some beers, next thing I know I hear a loud bang." Raph had a far away look in his eyes and swallowed hard. "Then I hear Fong shouting for us to grab the drinks and scram. I didn't get any drinks but I did run when I heard the alarm go off. Cops were at the scene within seconds. I ran to Mona's house thinking she would cover for me." Raph suddenly smiled. "But not only would she not cover for me, she wouldn't let me in her house. Called the cops instead and next thing I know, I'm in the slammer with Fong and the others."

"What happened in the store?" Leo asked.

"Store owner was shot by Fong but he lived. Picked out Fong and the rest of the guys but he never saw me so while they were sent to jail for attempted homicide, I was let out on probation, had to do community service and get my grades up as well and not skip school ever again. The judge had me go into a rehab and gave me a stern talking to. Told me I should be grateful someone was willing to have me arrested and force me to shape up. I guess I thought I owed Mona my life so for the rest of high school we dated. I think she thought we were going to get married but a week after graduation, I told her I was taking Casey out to LA so he could be with April. I guess Mona was hoping when I got back we'd pick up where we left off. I'd get my life together and we'd walked down the aisle." Raph paused and gave Leo an uncertain look. "Thing was Leo, I never loved her, I never loved anyone really. Sure I had sex with Mona and...others." He looked away again in shame before looking back at Leo. "But in all honesty Leo, you're the first person I've ever really made love to because you're the first one I've ever really loved."

Leo looked at him and scooted over to where he sat. He wrapped his arms around him and brought him into a hug. "You're the only one I've ever even been with." Leo told him. "Because from the time I met you, everything felt right." He leaned back and looked at him. "And it still does." They stared into each other's eyes. "I don't care about your past Raph, I love you for who you are." Raph smiled at Leo. "Just don't hide who you are from me, talk to me, tell me the truth, if it's something bad, we'll work through it." Raph smiled and stroke Leo's cheek.

"Okay babe." He agreed. They smiled and leaned into a kiss.

After they broke the kiss, Raph stood up and went over to his backpack and pulled out a book. The cover was red with blue stripes and large gold letters that read: THE STORY OF US.

Raph looked at Leo wtih a sly smile. "I found this after you ran out that day." He admitted. "I love how you started the story with how we met." He handed Leo the book. Leo opened it and noted that the first few pages were the ones that he wrote, he then noticed that beginning on Valentine's day, Raph took up the story. Leo looked back at Raph with a happy look. "You continued it?"

Raph nodded and then pulled a small blue wrapped box from his pocket. "I bought this for you on Valentine's day, I was gonna give it to you when..." He swallowed and looked at Leo hesitantly. "I'd like to give it to you now."

Leo stood and looked at Raph questioningly. He took the box and unwrapped it. Upon opening the box, his eyes widen and he let out a choked gasped. He looked up at Raph with a mixture of emotions crossing his face. "Raph?"

"Leo, I wanted to give this to you as a way to make our relationship exclusive." He pulled out a gold ring with a deep blue sapphire in the middle and red stones surrounding it." Now I want to give it to you in hopes that maybe..." He got on one knee and held the ring up. "You'd consent to marry me?"

Tears fell from Leo's eyes as Raph placed the ring on his finger. He nodded as he accepted the ring. "Oh yes Raph!" He cried out. Raph stood and smiled at Leo. "Of course I'll marry you!" He lunged forward and gave Raph an exuberant hug. They kissed deeply and passionately while outside the door, Mikey and Donnie listened with intent curiosity.

"My sons." Splinter walked up behind them. "What are you doing?"

Mikey brought his hands to his mouth to stifle a giggle. "We're listening to Raph and Leo Sensei."

"Yeah." Donnie said with a smile. "They've been talking for a while now."

"You boys should not be eavesdropping on your brother and Leonardo while..."

The door suddenly opened and Raph and Leo stepped out with wide smiles on their faces. "I proposed." Raph said breathlessly.

"And I said yes!" Leo said excitedly, holding up his finger with the ring on it.

Donnie and Mikey cheered and hugged Raph and Leo while Splinter stood back and watched. "Is something wrong Sensei?" Raph asked.

Splinter looked from one turtle to the other. "While I am happy for you, I feel you are still very young to be jumping into marriage. You are after all only eighteen." Splinter pointed out.

"We're not just going to run off and get married Sensei." Raph glared.

"It's alright Sensei." Leo said, he gave Raph a 'calm down now' look. "This was something we talked about while we were trapped in the pantry." He glared at Mikey, who grinned rather sheepishly" And we both agree that Raph needs to complete his education first and get a job." He explained. "After, we'll look into a date for the wedding, maybe sometime in the next two years." He smiled at Raph and they leaned in for a kiss.

Splinter nodded approvingly. "Then I give you my blessing." He told them. "This is cause for celebration and Leonardo, you should call your aunt and have her come over and join us in the celebration."

Smiling, Leo took out his cell phone and called his aunt's home. The phone rang and eventually went to the answering machine. "Hm, that's strange." Leo said turning to Raph and his family. "She's usually home by now." He frowned at the phone and tried again but again, it went to the answering machine.

"Let's have some dinner and I'll take you home." Raph told him, wrapping his arms around him from behind. "We'll talk to her together."

Leo nodded and the two walked over and joined the family at the table. They sat and enjoyed Mikey's pizza and talked excitedly about wedding plans. After dinner, Leo called home again but again, his Aunt still did not answer. He was starting to get worried. He thought back to the phone call he overheard several nights ago.

"Let's get going Raph." Leo said, putting on his coat. "I'm starting to get worried."

Leo received more hugs from Raph's brothers and Splinter, then went to the truck with Raph. They got to his apartment and Leo turned to Raph. "Let me speak with her first and make sure everything is okay." He told him,

"Why shouldn't things be okay?"

"I'll explain later." Leo remembered he had not had a chance to speak with Raph about what he overheard. "Just give me fifteen minutes then come in." Raph nodded and they kissed one more time before Leo left.

He walked into the building feeling both worried and excited. He made his way into the apartment and looked around. "Auntie?!" He called out. "I have some great news!" He looked around in wonderment. Laying on the floor in front of the door was his aunt's purse. Leo's face frowned when he saw this. His aunt was extremely clean and she couldn't stand not having things put away.

As he looked around the apartment, a strange smell hit his nose and he started to get a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He swallowed hard and slowly made his way from the door over to the small kitchen just off the living room. His breath quickened and he began to shake as the smell got stronger the closer he got. He nervously peeked into the entrance and let out a choked sob. He put his hands to his mouth, fighting the urge to vomit at the sight of his aunt laying on the floor, a large pool of blood surrounding her dead body.


	8. Chapter 8 The Past Comes Back

Ch 8 The Past Comes Back.

Tears fell from Leo's face and his body shook hard. He backed up slowly unable to take his eyes off his aunt lifeless form. He kept his hands over his mouth in an attempt to not scream out. "Oh God Auntie, why?" He cried hoarsely shaking his head. "Why did this happen?"

A sudden noise behind him had him whirling around. His eyes narrowed in anger at the sight of the three purple dragons that were coming out of his aunt's room. They stopped and stared at him with a smug expression on their faces.

"You?!" He yelled in shock. "How are you not in jail?"

Fong slowly walked over toward him, making Leo back up slowly. "A mutual acquaintance of ours." He said wagging his finger between him and Leo. "Bailed us out." The other two started to advance on Leo as well, pounding their fist into their hands. "And this 'friend' of ours has hired us to bring you to him." They nodded over at the kitchen. "No matter what the cost." They started laughing as Leo's forehead creased in realization.

"YOU BASTARDS!" He screamed. He charged at them with his fist raised. "YOU KILLED HER!" Before they could defend themselves, Leo charged after them. A jab to one face and a jab to another, several uppercuts and the fight was over before it had begun. Try as they might, Fong and the others could not get the upper hand since this time Leo had been ready and he was determined to take them down.

As he stood over Fong, he grabbed his collar and shook him violently. "WHY!" He screamed, tears flowing down his face. "WHY DID YOU KILL HER?!" He jumped up and stared down at them, panting hard. His fist up and ready for them, hoping they would get up and fight him again.

Fong and the other two dragons laid on the floor moaning and groaning. Fong sat up and spat blood out of his mouth. Much to Leo's surprise, Fong started laughing. He stood up and shook his head scowling at him. "We didn't killer her you little slut." Fong pointed behind Leo. "He did."

Leo heard a noise behind him but before he could turn around, he felt something jab him in his upper arm. He turned to see a tall, slender dark skinned Mexican man with smooth dark hair. In his hands was a hypodermic needle.

Leo could hear the three dragons laughing behind him. His vision began to swam in front of him and he found it hard to stand. He tried to make his way over to a chair but after one step, he found himself laying face down on the ground. He attempted to get up, but his arms did want to move. He was suddenly rolled over onto his shell and the four humans looked down at him.

"Do you see this?" Fong asked mockingly, waving a bandaged hand in front of his face . "This is all you."

Leo forced his eyes to focus on his hand. It was wrapped in heavy thick bandages and what small part of his hand could be seen was still very bruised. "Next time,,,anything goes in my mouth...I'll make sure to bite it clean off." He told him, clenching his teeth and forcing his head to stay up and keep his eyes focused.

Fong backhanded him. "There won't be a next time because now, it's payback time." He took out a switchblade and grabbed the front of Leo's shirt. He was just about to cut Leo's face when the fourth man grabbed his hand.

"He's wants him alive and unharmed." The man told him in a deep heavy Mexican accent. "Pick him up and let's get out of here." He ordered.

Fong's henchmen, Sid and Tsoi, grabbed Leo under his arms and began to drag him toward the door. Leo could still feel and hear everything going on around him. He attempted to get out of their grip but it was weak and had no affect on the two holding him. Fong was just about to open the door when it was flung open causing him to reel backwards. Raphael now stood in front of them, his eyes blazing in anger at the sight before him.

"LET HIM GO!" With a loud yell, Raph charged at them. He brought his right leg up and caught Tsoi in the stomach. He fell backwards causing Sid to stumble and lose his grip on Leo. While Tsoi laid on the ground groaning, Raph punched Sid in the face several times making sure he was down. An angry growl sounded from his right and he turned to see Fong coming toward him. Raph ducked and twirled, he roundhouse kicked Fong in the back forcing him to fall forward into Tsoi.

"I am going to kill you three for what you did to Mikey and Leo!" He screamed at them. He picked up a tall brass standing lamp fully intending to smash it on Fong's head when a loud yell sounded from the hall. He looked up in time to see a fourth human coming toward him and expertly swinging a butterfly blade in his hand.

"You will have to go through me first." The man sneered taking a stance and ready to fight.

Raph brought the lamp up and swung at his head. "Who are you and what do you want with him?" He demanded to know. The man expertly dodge the swing and brought his hand across trying to slice Raph's arm. Raph jumped out of the way and brought the lamp up and around and caught the other's arm with the lamp, he lost his footing and fell to the ground. He looked up at Raph and laughed.

"I am called Xever." He told him jumping back up and grabbing onto the lamp. He pushed Raph back and took the lamp out of his hands. He gave Raph a smug look. "And it is not I who wants him." He brought the lamp down attempting to hit Raph in the head, but Raph rolled away and swung his foot out and around causing Xever to fall back. Raph quickly got to his feet as did Xever.

He brought his fist up and blocked the lamp being brought down on him again as Xever jumped up and raised the pole above his head and swung it down toward him. "If you don't want him then who does?!" Raph yelled as he dodge another swing.

"The one I serve demands he be brought to him." Xever said as he tossed the pole aside and round house kicked Raph in the back of the leg. Raph landed on his shell and Xever jumped on top of him. He began jabbing his fist at him and although Raph blocked many, many more got through. He was starting to lose conscious when the lamp pole was brought down on the back of Xever's head.

Raph shook his head and watched as Leo swayed and fell to the floor. He looked over and saw Fong and the other purple dragons slowly and painfully starting to get up. He jumped up and angrily give a swift kick to each of them, making sure they stayed down for a little while longer. "That's for Mikey and Leo." He told them, he then grabbed Leo's arm and put it around his shoulder and got him on his feet. "Come on babe." He said making his way toward the door. "We need to get outta here."

He felt Leo attempt to start walking, but whatever drug they gave him, made his movements awkward and sluggish.

"You're bweeding Waphie." Leo said, his words slurred. Raph gave a light chuckle. He never heard him sound drunk before. "So are you Leo." He told him.

Leo pointed to Raph's beak. "But you're...you're worse." He muttered and poked him in his beak. They made their way down the stairs and outside toward Raph's truck. Raph got Leo in and quickly ran to the driver side. He got in and got the car in gear. He sped off with tires screeching.

"It's alright now my little one." Leo mumbled. Raph looked over at him in bewilderment. "It's over now. You are safe and we'll be okay"

Raph scrambled for his cell phone and pressed the #2 button. "Donnie!" He screamed into the phone. "Something's happen, Leo's hurt or drugged or...or something." He told him. "We'll be there in two minutes."

"Hush-a-bye, don't you cry, Go to sleep my little baby. When you wake you shall have. All the pretty little horses. Black and bays, dapples, grays, all the pretty little horses. Hush-a-bye, don't you cry, Go to sleep my little baby. Hush-a-bye, don't you cry, Go to sleep my little baby. When you wake you shall have all the pretty little horses." Leo voice sang lowly and tears rolled down his face. "Why daddy hurt my arms mommy?" Leo looked around, his eyelids fluttering. "My arms hurt so much. Mommy, sing my song again, please."

"Hang on babe." Raph told him. Leo's head continued to lull back and forth as he took up the song again. Raph pulled into the Hamato driveway and Donnie along with Mikey, Renet and Splinter ran out to meet him.

Donnie and Mikey took Leo's limbs and rushed him into the house. They brought him over to the couch and laid him down. While Splinter placed his hand on his forehead, Renet ran over to the kitchen and got a bowl of water with a rag. Leo continued to mumble and sing incoherently while Raph and his family gathered around him.

"Did you guys party without us dude?" Mikey asked, watching as Leo's eyes blinked and attempted to focus. He looked like he was about to fall asleep.

"No shell-for-brains." Raph said and slapped him upside the head. "He's been drugged."Raph explained what took place at Irma's apartment. "Where is Ms. Langinstien?" Splinter asked him, his face filled with concern.

"I...I don't know father." Raph admitted, his eyes widening in fear.

"They...they shot her." Leo mumbled, his voice barely a whisper. "She's all bloody and...she's dead." Leo's head rolled to one side and he finally lost consciousness.

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Two hours later, Leo slowly opened his eyes and attempted to focus. He smiled at the face looking down at him in concern."Hi." He whispered.

Raph smiled at him in relief and picked up his hand and started rubbing it. "Hey." He looked up and called out. "Hey everyone, he's awake."

Four more pairs of eyes leaned over the back of the couch and looked down at Leo with relief. "Oh thank goodness." Donnie said. He picked up Leo's other hand and checked his pulse. "We were so scared for you."

"My son." Splinter sat next to him and placed a paw on his head. "Can you tell me what happened."

Leo swallowed and frowned. "I walked into the apartment, I wanted to talk to..."Leo's eyes widen and he bolted upright. "AUNTIE!" He screamed. "She's dead!" They killed her!" He buried his face in his hands. "Oh my God NO!" He let out a loud moan into his hands as the memory of what he saw came back to him. "Oh she's dead!" He continued moaned. "WHY!" Raph grabbed him and began rocking him back and forth while the others looked at each other in shock.

"Leonardo." Splinter spoke softly to him. "Are you certain of what you saw?"

Leo nodded. "Fong said that other guy killed her." Leo hiccuped and sobbed hard into Raph's shoulder. "Why did they do it!?" He asked. "What did she do that they had to kill her?"

"It's okay Leo." Raph told him as he continued to rock him. "You're here and safe."

"We need to call the police." Leo said, still sobbing hard.

"It's been taken care of Leo." Donnie told him. "Just take it easy, I made the call anonymously and we'll take you to speak with the police tomorrow after you've had time to calm down and relax."

Leo nodded and clung to Raph desperately refusing to let go. Renet brought over a glass of water and Leo took it gratefully, but still held on to Raph with one hand. "I'm not going anywhere Leo." Raph assured him.

"Who was that guy anyway?" Leo asked shaking, but finally calming down several minutes later.

"Some guy named Xever." Raph told him. "Said he was hired to bring you to whomever hired him."

Leo nodded and laid back against the couch. Splinter went into the kitchen to make Leo a cup of tea, a few minutes later, he handed him a cup and sat down across from him. "Any idea who would want to do this to you Leonardo?" He asked.

Leo sipped his tea then shook his head. "Fong said he was sprung from jail by a mutual acquaintance of ours." Leo sighed tiredly. "Sounds like this mutual person hired the purple dragons as well as Xever."

Donnie looked over at Leo then walked over to the other side of the couch with his laptop. "I can hack into the police computers and see who it was who bailed them out." He said.

"Donatello?" Splinter gave his son a stern look. "You know I disapprove of these things."

"I know father, but in this situation I thought we could make an exception." Splinter regarded his son's logic stroking his long beard. He stood up and started to walk away. "I will be in the dojo meditating." He told them.

Several minutes later, Donnie called out. "I found it!" Everyone gathered around and checked out Donnie's findings. "According to this it was someone named Oroku...Saki Oroku."

Leo suddenly fell back against the couch and began to tremble violently. "It...it can't be." He whispered. He shook his head and his breathing came in gasps. "You're wrong Donnie!" He suddenly jumped up and grabbed Donnie by the collar. "Check your facts again because I know you're wrong!" He yelled in his face.

Donnie stared at Leo wide-eyed. Raph grabbed Leo's arms and pried him off his brother. "Leo!" Raph called out. "What the hell's matter with you?!"

"It can't be Saki!" He told them. "It just can't." Leo fell back onto the couch and began sobbing again. "It just can't be him."

Raph and his brothers looked at one another. Finally, Raph knelt down in front of him and forced him to look at him. "Why Leo?" He asked gently. "Who is this Saki Oroku?"

Leo's whole body shook and he hiccuped in distress. "He can't be alive!" Leo said again. "He just can't be. Not after all this time." Leo cried.

"Leo who is he?" Raph asked again, a little more demanding. "What do you mean he can't be alive...Why?!"

Leo looked up at him and shook his head again. "Because he's." Leo took a deep breath. "He's my father!"


	9. Chapter 9 Haunting Memories

Ch 9 Haunting Memories.

Raph, his brothers and Renet stared at Leo in shock. "How is this guy Saki your father Leo?" Mikey asked. "You don't even share his last name."

"My mom and dad got married about a year or two after I hatched." Leo explained, a far away look in his eyes. "I've always had my mom's maiden name." He choked back a sob.

Hearing the commotion, Splinter came out of the dojo and saw Raph comforting Leo. "What did you find out Donatello?" He asked.

Donnie explained all that he had learned and why and how it was effecting Leo. Splinter nodded in understanding. He placed a hand on Leo's shoulder. "If your father, this Oroku Saki is still alive and killed Ms. Langinstein to try and get to you, then we need to find out why and what he plans on doing with you." Splinter told him. He turned to Donatello.

"Is there anyway you can use your computer to look into this Oroku Saki?" Donnie nodded.

Leo stood and began to pace. "All this time, I thought he was dead." Leo gritted his teeth in anger. "My mom told me he died in an explosion in the TCRI building in LA." Leo stopped pacing and placed a hand against the wall. "But all this time, it was a lie!" He pounded his fist against the wall. "He's alive and now he's hired these purple dragon jerks to kidnap me?!" Leo turned back to Raph and his family. "Why!" He yelled and slid down the wall placing his head in his hands. "Why is this happening!?"

Raph ran over to where Leo sat. "Everything will be okay Leo." Raph told him, wrapping his arms around Leo's shoulders.

"Yeah bro." Mikey chimed in. "No matter what this Saki guy tries to do, we'll be there to stop him!" He pounded his fist in his hand to emphasize his point.

Leo shook his head. "No, I need to face him alone and find out what he wants. Why he came back and like...like this."

"Leo..." Raph started.

"Raph, I don't want to see you, or any of you hurt." He looked at the rest of the group. "I...I just want to know why." He looked down at the floor. "Why and...and how he could do this to my mother?" He looked back at the group. "To me."

"Leo?" Raph looked away from him and toward his family who were watching them intently. He turned back to him and placed his hands on his shoulders. "Did your father hurt you?"

Leo looked at Raph confused." What do you mean?"

Raph licked his lips nervously. "When I got you in the car, you were pretty high. Mumbling things...singing and talking to your mother about your father and saying something about him... hurting your arms." He looked at Leo intently. "Did your father hurt you?"

Leo put his hand on his arm where he was jabbed with the needle. "That guy Xever shot me with a needle." He began to get a far away look in his eyes and his body began to tremble. "I remember...the last time I saw my dad...he took me out of my bed." Leo's breathing quickened. "He told me I had to be quiet, not to wake up my mom." His eyes started darting around. "He told me he had a surprise for me at work...we got there and he brought me to this lab." Tears started falling from his eyes and he started rubbing his hands up and down his arms. "He held me down while this dark skinned man began poking me with needles, he shot me up with stuff and drew blood...I screamed and begged my dad to stop and take me home." Raph wrapped his arms around Leo and soothed him. Leo cried harder into Raph's shoulder while the rest of the family listened in horror. "My mom showed up and she forced my dad away from me.. she grabbed me and...and took me away while the building burned." Leo shook hard and sobbed uncontrollably as the memories of that night flooded his mind. "OH GOD...MY MOTHER TRIED TO KILL MY DAD!" He yelled out grabbing his head with his hands. "WHY!? WHAT WAS HE TRYING TO DO TO ME?!"

"Oh Leo, I'm so sorry!" Raph told him. "But your with us now and your safe, we are not going to let that man hurt you." He pulled Leo away from him and looked into his eyes, wiping the tears from his eyes. "I promise you. We are going to deal with him."

"Raph, I can't..."Leo started

"Don't say you can't let us help you." Mikey came over and knelt beside Raph. "Family helps family and you are a part of this family."

"That's right!" Donnie said vehemently. "We take care of our own and no one gets away with trying to hurt the ones we love!"

Leo sniffed and smiled at the three brothers." Thank you guys." He took a deep breath. "I do feel a little better." He looked at Raph. "I'm really tired, can I lay down please?" Raph nodded and helped Leo to his feet. He then assisted Leo in getting to his room.

"Oh poor Leo." Renet said. "One minuted he's all excited about getting married and now all this!"

Splinter nodded. "We are going to have to keep a watchful eye on him." His sons looked at him curiously. "We do not know if he intends to do something dangerous and take revenge or if someone may try to come after him and take him away. Regardless we cannot let anything happen to him." Splinter looked intently at his sons. "We must be there to help him but he must first calm down and be in the right state of mind." Splinter turned and went to his room. "We should all get a good night sleep and deal with this in the morning."

"Well, it's been a long day, I'd better get home." Renet told Mikey. She began to walk to the door with Mikey escorting her.

"Renet, I know it's only a few minutes drive, but can you call me when you get home." Mikey said, sounding nervous. He grabbed her hands and looked into her eyes. "Please." He begged.

She smiled at him and they kissed tenderly. "Of course Mikey." They turned to the door and, with Mike's hand in hers, he escorted her to her car. As promised, several minutes later, she called his t-phone and he went into his room to talk to her.

Upstairs, Raph watched as Leo laid down in his bed. He looked broken and alone. "You don't have to stay with me Raph." Leo told him. "I know you still have things to do." He tried to smile at him. "Like your homework." He glared at him.

Raph chuckled. "In a minute." He told him. "You know you're a good singer." Raph told him.

Leo looked at him in surprise. "What song did I sing?"

"All The Pretty Little Horses." Raph smiled. "It's a lullaby, isn't it?" Leo nodded. "My mom use to sing 'You Are My Sunshine' to my brothers and I." He smiled sadly. "To this day I still miss it."

Leo nodded and began to get that far away look in his eyes again. "Me too, my mom use to sing it to me when I was scared or upset." He let out a nervous chuckle. "Now that I think about it, I use to get that way when I would get 'phantom pains' along my arms." A tear once again rolled down his cheek. "She tried to protect me from him and thought she killed him." He shook his head and wiped his face. "All those years she carried that guilt and he was alive all this time."

"I know it's hard but try not to think about that right now Leo." Raph placed his hand on Leo's cheek. "We'll talk about this in the morning." Leo nodded. Raph bent down and gave Leo a deep kiss. Leo then watched Raph walk out the room with a promise to be back after he was done with his homework.

Raph made his way to the living room and went to speak with Don. "What can you find on this Saki guy Don?"

Donnie walked over to his laptop and did some more typing. "I'm not finding anything really on him." He said. "He's from Japan and, according to the records, died in July of '02 after an accidental explosion in the Los Angeles branch of TCRI. According to one witness, the explosion happened when a mixture of explosive chemicals fell and set the building on fire." Donnie looked thoughtful. "I remember reading something about this in the TCRI archives."

"Who was the witness?"

"Someone named Baxter Stockman." He pulled up the picture of Stockman and Donnie's eyes widen in surprise. "Wait, I know this guy!" He looked at Raph excitedly. "He works in a different section at TCRI, he's experimenting with a variety of Steroid Enhancement drugs for soldiers."

"I thought that was illegal?" Raph sounded like he was getting angry.

"It has to do with helping them heal after they get wounded, or something like that." Donnie looked at his brother rather sheepishly. "No one's really suppose to know anything about it but there have been rumors about it."

Raph looked at the picture of Stockman. "Didn't Leo say something about a guy giving him shots and talking his blood being dark skinned?" He asked.

Donnie nodded and then looked at Raph in amazement. "Do you think this could be the guy?"

"It has to be." Raph told him. "It makes sense that..."

At that moment, a knock on the door brought the brothers away from their thoughts. Raph answered it and was not too surprise to see two police officers standing at the door.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"I'm officer Upton and this is Officer Graham, we're looking for a Leonardo Tartaruga." One officer told him. "We were told he may be here."

"What is this about officer." Splinter came out of his room upon hearing the knock.

"There's been trouble at his Aunt's home." Graham explained. "We need to speak to him right away."

All three Hamatos kept their faces calmed upon hearing the information.

Splinter turned to Raph. "Raphael, please go and get Leonardo." He turned back to the officers and at that moment Mikey was just walking in looking bewildered. "What sort of trouble Officer?"

"Sorry sir, we need to speak with him about this." Stated Upton.

Splinter nodded. "Is it alright that I and my sons stay with him officers?"

"If that's what he wants." Upton told him. "We may have to...

"Father!" Raph came running back into the living room in a panic. "Leo's gone!"


	10. Chapter 10 Facing the Demon

Ch 10 Facing The Demon

Ten minutes earlier, Leo watched Raph walk out of the bedroom. When he was sure Raph had gone down the stairs, he quickly got up, went over to Raph's desk and pulled out a piece of paper. He hastily scribbled a note then placed it on the bed. He then grabbed a few things from Raph's desk, adjusted the bindings that he had yet to remove from his day's classes and was just about to disappear out the window when he looked down at the ring still on his finger that Raph had given him only hours before. He let out a sigh and took it off, placing it on the letter he gave a silent prayer that Raph would forgive him and all would be okay between them if and when he returned.

He quickly ducked out the window and climbed up to the roof, he took off running from rooftop to rooftop and, several minutes later, he found himself standing on a rooftop across from the TCRI building. He looked down and saw the three purple dragons along with the guy Raph said was named Xever, waiting outside the building like they were expecting something to happen.

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The two officers looked from Raph to Splinter. "Look, if your attempting to..."

"I'm telling you he aint here!" Raph shouted at them, waving a piece of paper in his hand.

Mikey and Donnie held Raph as Splinter turned to him sternly. "Enough Raphael." He turned back to the police. "I assure you officers, we are not attempting to keep Leonardo from anyone." He took a deep breath." May we please know what this is about?"

"We got an anonymous phone call telling us there was trouble." Graham told him. "When we got there, she was found dead in her kitchen."

All four Hamatos looked at one another then turned back to the officers. "How did this happen?" Splinter asked, feigning shock. Although he knew most of the details, he had to keep the officers thinking Leo, as well as the rest of them, had no knowledge of it. He did not want them to interfere with them finding Leo first.

"She was shot to death." Upton told them. "We need to speak with him about this as soon as possible."

"Leonardo was here all day, he assist me with my classes." Splinter advised them. "I doubt he would know anything of this horrible crime."

"Is Leo a suspect?" Mikey asked.

"Not at this time, but he may know something." Graham explained. "And he could be in danger from the killer or killers as well."

They nodded. "We'll try to find him and get him to you as soon as we can." Raph said, forcing his voice to remain calm.

"Meanwhile, we'll keep searching for him." Graham advised. "But please have him come down to the police station as soon as you hear from him."

The police bid them a good night and left. Splinter turned to Raph and looked at the paper. "Is that from Leonardo?" He asked.

Raph looked down at the paper sadly, he held it out with a shaking hand for Donnie to read.

 _My dearest Raph. Please forgive me, I have to face my father alone, I don't know what he wants with me but I do not want him to hurt you or any of your family like he did my Aunt. Please know, I love you very much and will do everything I can to come back to you. Your's forever. Leonardo._

Tears fell from Raph's face as Donnie read the letter. Mikey walked over to him and held him tight, his eyes glistening with tears as well.

"We have to go after him." Raph said, he looked down at the ring he was holding tightly in his other hand. "I let him go once but I'm not doing it again!" He began to walk out the door when Splinter grabbed hold of his arm.

"My son." Splinter spoke to him soothingly. "Before you leave, do you know where you are going?"

Raph stopped and looked at him. "No." He said hanging his head. He looked over at Donnie. "Any ideas Don?"

"My guess would be TCRI."

Raph nodded. "Then that's where we'll start."

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Hesitating on the roof, Leo thought of his mother and the warning she gave that night when she came to him. "You were right mom." He whispered. "He came back." He shook his head sadly. "But why, what does he want?" Leo took a steady breath, checked the few things he had tucked away on him and made his way down to the street. "Time to find out." Holding his head high, he walked across and stopped in front of Xever and the others.

"Well, well." Xever sneered as Leo came toward them. "Looks like you saved us some time coming after you." He took out his switchblade and began to play with it. "Too bad, I was hoping to meet up with your boyfriend and de-shell him."

"I came to you." Leo told him, fighting the urge to charge at him and start swinging. "You are to leave my friends alone." He walked past them. "Now, take me to where HE is."

Xever turned to the purple dragons. "Wait here and keep a look out." He took Leo's arm and roughly escorted him into the building.

They walked inside and Xever brought Leo into an elevator. "He is on the top floor." He told him. "It will be a few minutes to reach the top."

"Then we have time for you to tell me why you killed my aunt."

"It was orders." He grinned at him evilly. "I was to get rid of anyone who stood in the way of _him_ getting _you_ back."

Leo looked down at the floor as a sudden thought crossed his mind."She knew?" He whispered.

"Not only did she know, she was suppose to bring you to us." He told him with a laugh. "But she changed her mind and tried to stop us. Actually tried to convince us to leave you alone." He twirled his switchblade and laughed. "But we let her know, you don't go against one like him." He brought the blade against Leo's cheek. "Not if you want to live." He sneered. "A lesson she learned too late."

Moments later, much to Leo's relief, the elevator door opened and Xever once again grabbed his arm and escorted him out. They walked a long hallway to a door that said 'private' and Xever knocked.

"Come!" A deep low voice called out. The familiar voice made a chill run up and down Leo's spine and he felt his pulse quicken.

Xever smiled at him and opened the door. Leo stepped into a very large dark room decorated with Oriental dark cherry furniture and various artwork of Japanese origin. To his right side was a dark leather couch with a large painting of Samurai Warriors in battle above it. To his left was a large fireplace and two dark cherry leather chairs on either side. Above the fire place was a portrait of a dark haired man of Oriental descent. He had dark eyes and a firm jaw with a look of anger. The painting seemed to look down at Leo as he made his way across the room. He lowered his eyes to the floor in disappointment, even the picture seemed to mock him. He looked up and saw in front of him was a large dark cherry desk with dragons carved into the front of the desk facing each other, mouths open and sharp claws bared. In front of the desk was a matching large dark cherry leather chair with it's back facing Leo.

As Leo approached the large desk, he noticed to his right side in the corner shrouded in darkness was a person who seemed very familiar to him. But he remained hidden in the shadow and Leo could not get a clear look at him.

Leo stopped in front of the desk and waited, beads of sweat poured down his face and he fought to remain calm. Eventually the chair turned and Leo felt goosebumps all throughout his body. He swallowed hard.

"Leonardo." The man in the chair intoned.

Leo moved his jaw and fought back the tears. "Hello...Father."


	11. Chapter 11 Disappointments and Failures

Ch 11 Disappointments and Failures.

Leo stared at his father and shook his head. Even with all the scars that littered his face, he could still see the man he once loved. His fist clenched and he shook with anger as the two of them stared at each other.

Oroku Saki finally stood up from behind his desk and made his way slowly over to Leonardo, his eyes uncaring and cold. From his right side, the figure in the shadow also began to move. Leo's eyes showed surprise at first, then he let out a light chuckle upon recognizing the person.

"Chris Bradford." His voice was filled of hatred as the tall brown bearded man stepped forward. "I should have known you'd be a part of all this too."

Bradford scowled at the turtle. "You should not have run away Leonardo, your aunt would still be alive." Bradford responded with a scowl. "Unlike your mother."

Leo clenched his fist. "I know you had something to do with her death." Now he turned to his father. "All these years and we...I thought you were dead." He swallowed hard and fought back the tears. "Why have you now come back?" He clenched his fist. "What do you want with me?!"

"What I want is none of your concern." Saki scowled down at him in disgust.

"It is if I have something to do with it!" He yelled.

Saki backhanded Leo hard causing him to fall hard to the floor. "You have no right to question me." He told him. "The only reason I allowed you to be born was so I could have your DNA." Leo put a hand to his cheek and looked up at him, fire burning in his eyes. "You were nothing more then an experiment." Saki spat out the words like venom. "A test subject that would give me what I needed. But she found out and took you away before I could get what I wanted and all our evidence, all our research was burned in the fire!" He reached down and grabbed Leo's arms angrily pulling him off the floor. He brought his face close to his, almost shaking him. "Without the file, the information, it took me years to duplicate the process. When I finally figured out what we had done and it could be duplicated, it was time to return and finish what I had started so many years ago." He grabbed his chin hard. "But we had to deal with her first." He nodded to Bradford.

"It wasn't hard to slowly poison her." He laughed. "That's why the doctors couldn't help her. The cancer was created and not curable."

Leo fought back the tears that threatened to fall. "She loved you!" Leo reminded Saki. "How could you do this to her?" He gritted his teeth. "To us?" He roughly shoved Saki's hand off of him and backed away from him.

"Your mother was a fool, and it was her foolishness that led to her undoing." He turned hard cold eyes on him. "If it wasn't for me needing mutant DNA, I would never have had anything to do with your mother...or you." He let out a cold dark laugh. "Do you really believe I could love something as hideous as a mutant freak!" Saki watched with pure evil delight as Leo's face twisted into a pained scowl. He was just about to turn away when Leo let out a loud yell and charged at him, smashing his right fist into Saki's scarred face. Xever and Bradford quickly grabbed him before he could continue to fight.

"My mother was right!" He screamed at him. "You are nothing more then a monster!"

Saki reeled back and place his hand over a now bloody nose. He looked down and laughed at him. "It was that fire that I saw in your mother that made me realize I underestimated her. But I won't make the same mistake with you." He grabbed a handkerchief out of his pocket and looked at the other humans. "Bring him!" He ordered turning back to the exit.

He was brought back to the elevator and after getting in, Saki pushed a button marked thirty eight. A few moments later, the elevator came to a stop on the thirty eighth floor and opened to another long hallway. It was late into the evening and the building was empty except for a few people. Leo looked around as they walked, seeing rows of cubicles and offices. He was led through another door and hallway and then eventually into a white examining room where on counters sat several beakers, microscopes and a variety of other lab equipment. Sitting behind a desk was a thin dark skinned man of average height and afro like hair. Leo gasped when he saw the man.

"I remember you." He said looking at him. That night so many years ago was now coming back to him in full force. "You survived the fire." He looked him up and down, no scars that he could see. "Unharmed too."

"Trust me freak, I didn't escape completely unharmed." He said and rolled up his right lab coat sleeve revealing a horribly scarred arm. "Thanks to your mother, I have burns over most of my body." He turned to Saki. "The equipment is ready, we just have to make sure his DNA is still viable."

Bradford and Xever forced Leo's coat and shirt off, they then placed him on a examining table and strapped him down. He looked up at Saki. "How can you do this to me?" He asked, tears falling down his cheeks. "I'm your son."

Saki looked down at him and laughed coldly. "You are nothing to me." He turned to the man in the lab coat. "Stockman, do what you must."

Stockman walked over to Leo with a large needle and grinned down at him evilly. "This may be very painful." He told him. "I suggest you hold still."

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Raph, Donnie and Mikey made their way in the family truck to the TCRI building and parked in Donnie's designated spot. He pulled out his t-phone and began putting in a sequence of numbers. Within seconds, he smiled at his brothers and gave them a thumbs up signal. "The security cameras are now being blocked and on a continuous loop. We can sneak into the building and go anywhere without being noticed."

They grabbed their weapons and got out of the truck, keeping close to the wall they peeked around the corner and saw the three purple dragons standing outside the doors keeping watch and looking very bored. "How do we get around those jerks?" Mikey asked sounding nervous, absentmindedly fingering his temple where a visible scar reminded him of the bullet that grazed him.

"We take them down the best way we know how." Raph said twirling his sais. "Together."

Mikey steeled himself. "Then I want Fong." He said, gritting his teeth.

The three turtles readied their weapons and let out a loud war cry charging at the three dragons taking them completely off guard. The dragons startled at the sudden noise and, after composing themselves ran toward the turtles with their fist and switchblades raised.

Raph took Sid who was stronger and more muscular. "You're going down this time for good for what you did to Leo and Mikey." He told him swinging his sais toward Sid's head. Sid dodged and threw a punch at Raph who blocked and punched Sid in the stomach with the butt of his sai. Sid doubled over and Raph gave an uppercut to his jaw hard enough to send him reeling backward and smashing into Fong who was fighting Mikey.

Sid fell to the ground, panting hard and groaning. He held his jaw and looked up Raph cross eyed. Raph jumped on him and smashed his fist into Sid's head and his head hit the pavement hard. He watched Sid's eyes roll to the back of his head and fall into unconsciousness.

Mikey meanwhile fought against Fong, striking him hard with his nun-chucks along his body causing the human to drop his blade and try to stop the blows. After seeing him get hit with Sid, he dropped his chucks and began pummeling him furiously. Fong put up his hands in an attempt to block him. Mike eventually jumped up and began bouncing around like a boxer in the ring. "Get up Fong!" He screamed. "Fight me in a fair fight without your gun or knife!" He demanded.

Fong looked up at the smaller turtle and laughed. "You want to fight 'mano y mano' turtle." He sneered. "You're on." He jumped up and swung his fist at Mikey's head only to miss. Mikey ducked then twirled around and caught his foot on the back of Fong's legs. Fong once again found himself on the ground, he looked up in time to see Mike's fist coming down on his nose hard.

Fong hit hard against the concrete and stared up at Mikey in disbelief. He brought his hand to his nose and held it. "Yo'd boke ma nde?" He said in disbelief.

Mikey looked down at him with hate, he grabbed Fong's switchblade. "Be glad that's all I broke." With that, he threw the blade onto the ground hard. Sid looked in fright as the knife landed in between his legs extremely close to his crotch. "Get outta here." Mikey said gritting his teeth. Fong got up but as he did, he smashed into Tsoi who was fighting Donnie, Fong fell to the ground unconscious. "That'll take care of you for a long while." Mikey said as he nodded toward the fallen dragon.

Donnie ran to Tsoi and swung his bo at his head, Tsoi blocked and kicked sending Donnie against the wall but he quickly flipped and pushed himself back at the dragon and smashed his head into his stomach causing him to reel backwards and fall to the ground. When he sat up, Donnie took his bo and smacked him several times in the head. "That's for what you did to my brother and my friend." He told him. He took his bo like a bat and swung the staff along Tsoi's head smacking him hard. Tsoi fell to the ground stunned and bleeding from his head. He sat up in time to see Donnie's fist coming toward him and smash him in the mouth knocking him out.

"Nice going guys." Raph complimented, panting hard. They made their way into the building. "Where to now?"

"The elevator." Donnie said pointing straight ahead. They got on the elevator and stared at the many buttons. "Any idea which one?" Mikey questioned.

The other two looked at each other and Donnie pushed a button. "Baxter works on the thirty eighth floor and since he and Saki seem to be working together..."

"We get it Don." Raph said getting irritated. He was worried about Leo and just wanted to find him. "Let's just find Leo and get him out of here."

The other two looked at him. "He'll be okay Raph." Mikey said. Donnie placed a hand on his shoulder and nodded. "We'll get him out of here." He smiled. "And you two can live happily ever after." Raph growled at the sappiness of that thought but chuckled inwardly to himself.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened. "Which way Don?" Raph asked.

Donnie looked around and pointed to the right. "Baxter has a lab over there, let's check it out."

They wandered toward the far end of the hall and eventually came to a door with a nameplate: Baxter Stockman.

"Let's sneak in quietly." Donnie said sternly, looking at Mikey.

The three silently crept in and they found themselves in a large white room with several tables that held a variety of lab equipment. But there was no sign of Leo or anyone else for that matter.

"Where are they?" Raph huffed.

Donnie pointed to a door at the far end of the room. "Let's check there."

"Okay D..." Mikey urged. "Lead the way."


	12. Chapter 12 Fighting the Beast

Ch 12 Fighting the Beast.

Leo winced as Stockman jabbed his arm again and continued to extract his blood. He watched in curiosity as he placed it under a microscope. After a few minutes of silence, Leo looked up at his father. "Tell me what you did to me and why?" He demanded.

Saki looked down at him and smiled tauntingly. "I suppose you do have the right to know." He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "Several years ago, I started trying to find a way to make soldiers stronger and more immune to diseases." Saki explained. "At one point it dawned on me that you mutants." He spat the word out like it was poison. "Have an endurance that no normal human had. So I began experimenting on mutant DNA." He walked over to him. "But I quickly realized that mutant DNA from older mutants were not as durable as those who were younger. But because your blood is different from humans, it was illegal to experiment with your kind. So I decided I needed to get my own." He sneered down at the turtle. "Mixing your blood with these chemicals I will create a vaccine to sell to the military. It will make soldiers stronger, faster and able to go without sleep longer." He let out a cold laugh. "And I will be rich."

"How did you manipulate my mother?" He demanded struggling in his bindings.

"It wasn't hard to warm that cold-blooded heart of hers." He laughed smoothing his finger down along Leo's cheek. Leo shook his head to get the hand off him. "She worked with me and I courted her. All I wanted was one night with her to get you, but after she laid your egg, she decided she had to leave." He clenched his fist and his face twisted in a look of disgust. "I had to marry her so she wouldn't take you away from me." He shook his head. "It was the only way I could keep you near so I could continue with the experiment. Moving to Los Angeles was another way to make sure she was kept under my control."

"And when I ran away to New York." Leo shook his head in disgust. "You used my aunt to keep tabs on me." He surmised.

"Of course." He sneered. "It was necessary to make sure you didn't run away again."

As Leo listened to the sordid details, an idea suddenly occurred to him. "You were blackmailing her." He declared, remembering parts of the phone call he had overheard. "What info did you have on her that you could do that to her?"

Saki let out another laugh. "She killed her husband." He told him.

"No." Leo whispered. "That's not possible."

"Isn't it?" He asked. "She claimed it was an accident, but there is evidence to show other wise." He walked over to Leo and brought his face close to his. "It's amazing what people can do when they feel their lives are in danger." He shook his head. "Her husband was abusive, she felt it was necessary to do away with him."

Leo looked away from him in confusion and disbelief. "He abused her and you used that against her?"

Saki nodded. "I will do whatever it takes to get what I want." He turned and started to walk toward Stockman. "No matter who I have to destroy... **OR**...get rid of." He watched as Stockman peered through the microscope. "Do you have the information yet?" He asked.

"A few more moments." Stockman said as he took out a slide from the microscope and placed another in.

"I grow tired of waiting Stockman." Saki stood tall over him. "What have you determined?"

Stockman stood and turned to him. "His blood still has the enhancing genes that we placed in him, some are not as viable and they are beginning to break down so we'll have to add to it and up the dosage." He went over to a centrifuge and placed eight small vials into it. He and Saki stood and watched the machine turn. "It will take a bit of time but we'll be able to continue with what we started so many years ago." He rubbed his hands in anticipation as his eyes lit up at the thought.

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Raph, Don and Mike quietly and cautiously made their way to the door. Voices could be heard on the other side and Don noted one sounded like that of Stockman. They very slowly opened the door and peered in. They first saw Leo strapped down to an exam table, it was everything Raph could do to hold himself back and not rush inside. To the side with their backs to the door was Stockman and a tall bald man whose head was scarred and burned. Stockman wore a lab coat while the other was in a business suit and tie.

By Leo were two other men, one Raph recognized as Xever and the other, a tall man with brown hair and beard. They were also turned away from the door and watching Stockman and the taller one work at a bench with test tubes, beakers and the centrifuge. No one had heard the door open but Leo, laying down and looking up at the ceiling with tears in his eyes happened to notice the door move slightly.

He looked over and startled at the sight of the three of them slowly opening the door. He shook his head vigorously and with his left hand motioned for them to go back, but the three ignored him and continued into the room.

"There it's all set to go." Stockman said. He began to fill several needles with the liquid he had from the vials. "Now we just need to start injecting the chemicals into his bloodstream and we can begin to collect the serum ..."All four humans turned toward Leo, as they did they saw the other three turtles coming into the room.

"What!" The tall bald man exclaimed. He looked at Xever. "How were they able to sneak in here!" He yelled.

Xever sneered at the three turtles and pulled out his knife. "I had the three idiots keep watch. Apparently they did not do a very good job."

"You'll find them on the steps beaten and down." Raph told them. "I suggest you look into hiring better help and leave the losers in jail where they belong."

"Now let Leo go!" Mikey pulled out his nun-chucks and started twirling them above his head while Donnie and Raph took out their weapons.

"Guys I told you not to interfere!" Leo yelled at them. He began to wiggle his left wrist and pulled a small blade out of his bindings. In record time, he was out of his bindings and off the table. "I was still trying to get information out of him."

The three turtles and four humans stared at him in shock. "You wanted to come here and get captured?" Raph yelled at him, surprised as Leo made his way over to them, his eyes on Saki in an angry scowl.

"I wanted him to confess!" Leo told him. "I wanted to hear everything, to know the truth." He panted hard and held his small blade out toward his father. "I wanted to bring him down myself and get closure."

"I told you we would deal with your father together!" Raph roared angrily. "Besides." He pulled out twin katanas from off his back under his jacket. "We thought you might need these."

Saki laughed and shook his head. "I should have known." He walked over to a small desk in the corner and opened a large drawer on the bottom. He pulled out two iron gloves and put them on. They watched him make a fist and gasped as long blades slid out the top. "In Japan I am know as the Shredder." He told them smugly then looked at Leo. "Had I been proud to have you for a son, you would have been an heir to my legacy."

"I wouldn't want that legacy." Leo sneered at him, pointing a katana blade at him. "It's bad enough to know I'm the son of a murdering coward!" He let out a loud yell and the two rushed toward each other. "How many others have you killed just to get what you want?!" He demanded, blocking a swing of Saki's blade at this head.

Their weapons locked and they stared angrily at each other. "More than enough." He told him. They pushed each other away and continued their battle.

Donnie looked over at Stockman, who was quickly and nervously gathering up the needles and placing them in a small silver briefcase in an attempt to take them out of the lab. His movements were clumsy and as he grabbed up the needles, one fell off the table and rolled underneath. "Oh no you don't Stockman." Donnie yelled and ran over to him."

Raph and Mikey leered over at the last two who were scowling back at them." I'll take the green-eyed one." Xever said as he readied his switchblade. "I have a score to settle with him."

"Fine, I'll take the little one with the freckles."

"Names Michelangelo." Mikey yelled. "Remember that when you're running away with your tail between your legs you son-of-a-bitch."

The man laughed at Mikey. "Well, Michelangelo." He sneered. "You keep the name Chris Bradford in mind as I slice into you." He rushed toward Mikey while Xever rushed toward Raph. "Because that's my name."

"Leo's stepfather?" Raph asked dodging a swing by Xever.

"Yes!" Leo cried out as he swung his blade toward Saki's head. "And he's a martial artist himself so watch yourself Mike!"

Donnie wrestled with Stockman over the briefcase that held the chemicals. "You don't want to do this Donatello." Stockman told him. "We could do so much with these chemicals, so many soldiers could be helped." He looked at Donnie hopefully. "Think of all the money we could make. We'd be rich!"

Donnie looked at him in surprise. "Do you really think I'd go along with you trying to sell out my own kind?"

"It was worth a shot." Stockman confessed sheepishly.

"When we're through with you and the rest of Saki's goons, the CEO of TCRI as well as the head of your department is going to want to speak with you Stockman." He pushed Stockman away and grabbed the case. "And you know Mr. Leatherhead and Dr. Rockwell aren't going to be too please with what they hear." He jumped up and with a loud yell, kicked Stockman in the face. Stockman reeled backward and hit his head on the table knocking him out. "Huh, not even a challenge." Donnie said smiling.

"Donnie!' Leo called over to him, he pushed Saki away from him and quickly took something out of his plastron and tossed it over to him. "Get this and those chemicals to the police!"

Donnie caught what Leo tossed and stared down in surprise. "My handheld tape recorder?" He looked back toward Leo. "How did you get this?"

"Really!" Leo yelled at him as dodge another punch by Saki. "You...you're going to ask this now?!" he asked increduosly

"I borrowed it when I started college." Raph yelled out, using the butt of his sai he punched Xever's in the stomach and watched him go down. "Nice work babe!" He complimented Leo. "Now get going Don!"

Donnie nodded and ran toward the door. "I'll be back with help!"

"Don't let that mutant get away!" Saki called out. He swept his leg under Leo's feet causing Leo to fall onto his shell, he ran toward the door to chase after Don but was immediately blocked by Raph who flipped himself in front of Saki and kicked his foot out, smacking him in the chest.

"No one goes anywhere!" He yelled.

A loud yell from behind had him turning around. Leo's foot hit his face and he fell backwards toward Raph who immediately twirled around and kicked him in his back causing the large man to reel forward and hit the wall. Leo got next to Raphael and leered down at Saki. "Besides _dad_." He said sarcastically, leering down at the human attempting to get up. "We're not done with our little 'father/son' talk yet." He let out another roar and charged.


	13. Chapter 13 The Ugly Truth

Okay...wow, apparently that last chapter did not make people happy, sorry about that, I thought it was pretty good. Alright then, let's get these turtles home. A couple more chapters then this story will be over.

Ch 13 The Ugly Truth.

Don ran through Stockman's lab and made his way to the elevator. As he arrived, he looked up and noticed the numbers on the digital plate were showing the elevator was on it's way up. "Oh no." Donnie moaned. "It has to be the purple dragons." He thought, he had to find a place to hide. "He ran back the way he came and ducked into a utility closet. Peering out, he saw the elevator open and the three of them, looking bloodied and beaten coming into the hall and making their way to Stockman's lab. After they walked by, Donnie crept to the elevator and pushed the button, since it had just opened it was still on his floor so the doors opened up right away.

Unfortunately it alerted the dragons and they whirled around in time to see Donnie stepping into the lift. Donnie quickly pushed the button marked one and put down the case. He grabbed his bo and prepared to fight as the dragons ran toward him. They jumped into the elevator with him and the three dragons began to fight the one turtle.

"Three against one." Donnie grunted as he smacked Sid in his already injured face. "Not very fair don't you think Fong?" He asked sarcastically.

"Fair enough with you turtle." Fong sneered as he attempted to punch Donnie in the face. Luckily for Donnie, all three dragons were still severely injured and after a few swings of his bo, they were brought down easily. He leaned against the elevator and tried to calm his mind. The others were in trouble but he knew the best thing he could do was to get the hell out of the building and get to the police. He took out his t-phone and called 9-1-1. After, he looked down at Fong and the others. "Next time stay in jail." He advised them. "You're safer in there."

Back in Stockman's examining room, Leo continued to face off against his father while Raph fought Xever and Mikey battled Bradford. The three humans were getting the better of the turtles. Bradford threw Mikey against the wall and brought his fist down on the young turtle. Mikey attempted to get up only to get kicked in the stomach.

Raph saw this and turned away from Xever intending to bring his fist down on Bradford. "You bastard, get away from him!" Raph screamed, he started running toward him only to be jumped on by Xever. His arms were pulled back behind his shell and twisted. Raph let out a pained scream and back kicked Xever in the knee. He heard the sound of breaking bone and Xever let out a loud yell, he fell to the floor in excruciating pain, groaning and gasping while he held onto his knee. Raph smirked, he found his mark and broke Xever's kneecap.

Xever was down for good, now Raph ran over to where Bradford was bringing his fist down on his little brother. He jumped toward him, but Bradford saw him coming and brought his leg up and out catching Raph in the chest and sent him flying against the opposite wall. He turned away from Mikey and began to advance on Raph. "You freaks!" He screamed, his fist raised and ready to beat Raph to a pulp. "You don't deserve to be alive!" He was just about to bring his fist down on him when a loud 'booyakasha' sounded out behind him. He turned and saw Mikey coming down on him, his nun-chucks coming down hard on his skull. Bradford silently crumpled to the ground unconscious.

Raph and Mikey turned to see Leo still battling against Saki. Raph was about to run and help him when Mikey held him back shaking his head at him. "He needs to face him by himself Raph." Mikey told him when he turned to look at him in surprise. "You know this." Raph nodded and turned back to watch.

Leo and Saki continued to battle back and forth swinging their blades and trading jabs and kicks. "Pathetic!" Saki yelled as Leo swung his blade missing completely. "You really think you can defeat me!" He taunted. "You are nothing compared to me." He swung his leg up and caught Leo in the cheek. He fell to the ground panting and gasping for breath. Saki kicked him in the stomach sending Leo sliding toward the wall. He advanced on the young turtle, blades out, laughing and taunting him.

"You are weak Leonardo." He sneered. "You try so hard yet you are nothing like me. You and the rest of your kind are nothing but freaks trying to make it in a human world." He slid his right blade in and threw a punch catching Leo in the jaw. Saki grabbed Leo by his plastron and pulled him close. "This is why your mother was so easy." He smiled down at him. "So willing to let me use her."

Leo grit his teeth and clenched his fist. Saki laughed and threw him against the wall. "You think you can stop me from getting what I want?" He leered down at Leo, his face filled with hate. "Watch boy, as I take down your pathetic boyfriend and his nothing of a brother." He turned and began walking toward Raph and Mikey who held their fist up ready to battle. "And after I'm done with them, I'll continue with you."

"SAKI!' A shout from behind him had him twirling around to see Leo running toward him, his blades up and ready to slice into him. "You are nothing!" He screamed as Saki dodge his strike. "You are the pathetic one! Only wanting to use and destroy! Trying to play God when you're nothing but a lowly worm. Command those around you with fear!"Leo swung his blades furiously. "My mother was kind, good, decent!" Tears fell from his face as he continued to scream at him all the while swinging, kicking and punching him. "What she saw in you I'll never know!" He punched and hit Saki in the face. "You are nothing but a waste of space in this world!" He kicked Saki in the stomach sending him backwards against the lab table. "You could've had so much but you threw it away!" He threw his blades on the floor and jumped on top of him, pummeling him over and over again. "To think I wasted my time crying over you!" He cried out. "Wishing you could still be apart of my life when all this time you wanted to use me!" Saki tried to push him off but Leo held fast. "All those years I listened to my mother crying at night probably thinking she'd kill you!" He jumped up and stared down at him, panting hard, crying, red-faced with anger, hurt, hate and rage. "I WISHED SHE HAD KILLED YOU!" He screamed and continued furiously beating the crap out of Saki.

Saki turned his back toward Leo, slid his blades in and covered his head as the blows continued to rain down on top of him. For several seconds Leo continued to beat him, letting every hurt, every bit of anger and hate pour out of him. He finally stood up and gave Saki one last kick to his back. He stared down at the evil man who slowly turned to look at him. "Is that it?" He asked breathing hard, spitting and wiping the blood out of his mouth. "Don't you want revenge?" He looked at Leo's swords that laid a few inches away from Leo. "Take up your sword and strike me down boy." He slowly got up and moved toward him. "Finish what you started."

Leo shook his head. "You were right about something Saki." He told him. "I am nothing like you." He stared down at him and forced himself to calm down. "I could never kill anyone, regardless of how much I HATE them." Leo shook with rage but held himself back. He went over to where he had dropped his katanas. Raph and Mikey walked over to him and gave him a hug. In the distance, sirens could be heard. Leo looked back at his father with pity and disgust in his eyes.

"Those sirens are for you." He told him. "Next time I see you, it will be in court." He turned and began to follow Raph and Mikey out the lab. As he walked he felt a sudden jab in his neck. "Ahh!" He yelled. Raph and Mike turned and saw Leo holding his neck while Saki was holding the hypodermic needle Stockman lost under the table. He sneered at Leo who looked at him confused.

"I will not go to jail." Saki told him. "And you will continue to be experimented on." He laughed as he held the needle tauntingly at Leo. Raph and Mike ran over to Leo in concern.

"Leo!" Raph looked into his eyes. "Are you okay babe?"

Leo took his hand away from his neck. "I...I think so." He looked at his hand and saw a small amount of blood. "I don't feel any different."

"Yet." Saki told him. Suddenly Saki once again slid a blade out and ran toward Mikey intending to run his blade through him. Leo looked up in time to see the blade coming toward the smaller turtle. He lifted his sword and stood in front of Mike and forced his hand forward.

The police along with Donnie ran into the room and stared in horror. Watching as Saki stood over Leo who was staring up at him wide-eyed and in horror. His mouth hung open in shock as Saki's mouth coughed up blood. Leo drew his hand back and shook hard as he stared down at the now bloody sword still in his hand.

"Why?" He asked, watching as Saki fell to the floor, blood flowing steadily from the wound in his stomach.

Saki spat out blood and laughed as he collapsed onto the floor. The police began calling for back up along with stretchers and paramedics. They ran over to Saki and one officer placed a cloth over the wound. "Hold on sir, we'll get you to the hospital and you'll be okay."

Saki coughed and looked up at Leonardo who was staring down at him in disbelief. "No." He told the officer. "I won't." He laid himself down. "See you in hell...Leonardo." His eyes rolled in the back of his head, he let out a loud breath as his head fell to one side.

The officer placed his fingers on his neck then looked up at Leo and the other turtles, sympathy in his eyes for the young turtle who was looking down in disbelief. "He's dead."


	14. Chapter 14 A Letter of Love

Ch 14 A Letter of Love.

Leo sat on the steps of TCRI, a blanket wrapped around him. It was early morning now and his body shivered in the cold but he did not feel it. All around him, people were talking, moving, yelling, lights flashed and sirens sounded, but he heard none of it. He stared straight ahead, a blank expression on his face. He finally found out more about his life he ever expected to know, and now he felt lost and confused.

In front of him, Raph and Mikey were speaking to two tall muscular turtles, Detective Slash and Detective Spike. They had been investigating his aunt's death when they heard the 9-1-1 call placed by Donnie and came over immediately. Meanwhile, Donnie was speaking to a rather large alligator mutant and a mutant monkey, explaining to them what had been going on this night. Limping past Leo were Bradford, Stockman and the three purple dragons all in handcuffs and protesting loudly. Xever was in a stretcher cursing in Raph's name and threatening him. Then, a second stretcher with a black body bag was rolled past him. Leo's eyes followed as the stretcher was wheeled past. He felt so empty inside yet he wanted so badly to feel anger and hate for the man who killed everyone he once loved, but he didn't. He only continued to feel numb and lost.

"Leo?" He heard the voice but couldn't respond. "LEO!" Raph yelled, hoping to get him to look at him. Leo's eyes slowly wandered over to his. "We told the police everything, they want you to come down to the station later today and make a statement." He watched as Leo continued to stare at the body bag. "Donnie also talked to his boss, they're going to want to check you out as soon as they verify the chemicals Stockman created." He waited for Leo to respond but Leo only nodded.

"Snap out of it Leo." He told him. "Saki got what he deserved." He placed a finger under his chin and lifted his head to make him look at him. "If you hadn't done what you did, Mikey would be dead." Leo slowly nodded and let his eyes wander back over to the body bag now being lifted into the coroner's vehicle.

"Leo?" Raph now spoke softly. "Don't hold it in." He implored. "Let it go."

Leo shook his head. "I just wanted to hear him say it was all a mistake, that he came back into my life because he wanted to be with me...be my dad." Leo said, his voice sounding so far away. "Why couldn't he just love me?" Leo asked. "Why did he hate me so much?" He finally looked at Raph, tears flowing freely. "I'm alone now Raph. I have no one."

"Oh Leo." Raph brought Leo into a hug which was eventually joined by Donnie and Mikey." You're not alone Leo." Raph told him. "You got us and Sensei and all our friends."

"Yeah," Mikey chimed in. "And one day, you and Raph will be married and then you're really be a part of all this craziness...ow." Mikey winced as Donnie slapped his head.

Leo gave a small smile at their antics. "Thanks guys." He told them.

"Just promise me one thing Leo." Donnie looked at him with narrowed eyes. "You won't go running off like that again." He wagged his finger at him as though scolding a child.

"Yeah Leo." Mikey chimed in. "Uncool thing to do."

"It's like you said Leo." Raph reminded him, stroking his cheek. "We'll work through things together."

"I'm sorry guys." He lowered his eyes in shame. "I...I just wanted to protect you."

"It's okay babe." Raph pulled back and placed his hand in his pocket. He pulled it out and grabbed Leo's hand and placed the ring on his finger. He held Leo's hand up to his chest and looked at him tenderly. "Just promise me...you won't ever take this off again. He told him sternly.

Leo smiled at him teary-eyed and sniffed. "Promise." He told him sniffling.

"My sons!" The four boys turned and saw Master Splinter running through the crowd. He quickly wrapped his arms around Raph, Donnie and Mikey who had quickly made their way over to him."I heard what was happening on the news. I was so worried about you." He looked down at them, inspecting their faces making sure they were not hurt. "I am so thankful you are safe." He told them. He looked over at Leonardo who was staring at them with shame filled eyes. Splinter pulled away from his sons and gave them a loving smile, he then made his way over to Leo. He placed his hand on his shoulder. "All my sons." He said looking down at him.

Leo looked up at him, his face filled with emotion. He suddenly jumped up and grabbed onto Splinter and held him tight. He sobbed hard into the rat's chest, his whole body shaking as the tears spilled forth. Splinter gently stroked his shell and whispered words of comfort.

Several minutes later, after Leo calmed down, Splinter turned to the other turtles. "Come, all my sons." He placed his hand on Leo's cheek. "Let us go home."

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The next several days went by in a haze for Leo. Besides continuing to assist Splinter with their classes, he went to the police station and gave his statement and was advised to be available for any further questions and court. He allowed Donnie's boss, Dr. Rockwell, to check his blood and verify if the injection was doing anything with his DNA. From what he could deduce, Leonardo was fine, so far. He went to the coroner's office and verified his aunt's body. He gave her a tender kiss goodbye and left instructions with the M.E as to what funeral home the body was to be delivered to and began to make arrangements for the funeral.

Eventually, the day of the funeral came and Leo gave the eulogy. He spoke slowly and his voice sounded tired. At the end, many people from Roosevelt High School where Irma worked gave their condolences and he thanked them all. He started walking away when his aunt's boyfriend, Vern, came up to him to talk.

"Hello Leonardo." He greeted him. "How are you doing son?"

"Hi Mr. Fenwick." Leo returned the greeting. "Doing the best I can."

"I just wanted to tell you Leo...you know your aunt loved you very much..and..she was really happy when you came to stay with her" Leo nodded as they walked away from the freshly laid grave. "I also have something I need to give you." Vern took a deep breath and shook slightly. "I saw her that day, before she died. She called me after you went to work and gave me something that I was to give to you, unfortunately I got caught up at work and was not able to get to the dojo that day." They stopped walking and he looked down at the ground as tears threatened to fall. "It was as though she knew she wasn't going to see you anymore." He said choking on his words. He pulled out of his breast pocket a very thick envelope and handed it to Leo. "It..ah..probably has something to do with her estate." Leo looked up at him in surprise.

"Her estate?" He inquired.

"Yeah, your aunt had a lot of money." He told him with a light nervous chuckle. "Probably well over a million dollars and..." Vern looked at Leo who was looking at him in shock. "You...you didn't know." He said slowly.

Leo shook his head in disbelief. "I had no idea." He looked down at the ground in wonder. "How...where?"

"Her grandmother was an heiress." Vern told him. "She inherited a ton of money after her mom died and distributed it between her children, Irma's mom being one of them." Vern placed a hand on Leo's shoulder as he look down at the envelope. "If there is anything I can do for you."

"Thank you Mr. Fenwick." Leo nodded, staring at the envelope, eyes wide. He looked over to the limousine where Raph and the rest of the family were waiting for him. "But...I think I'm in good hands." Shaking hands, they said goodbye and Leo walked over to his family.

"What's that babe?" Raph asked.

"Something from my aunt." He explained what had transpired between him and Vern. "I'll open it when we get home.

At home Leo opened the letter and was surprised to see not just a note from his aunt, but a will that stated him as her sole heir and instructions to see her lawyer. Leo was stunned and requested Raph read the note.

 _My darling Leonardo._

 _If you are reading this then I am probably no longer with you and you are probably wondering what has happened. It's a long story but I will try to tell you as much as possible. First of all, I never meant to hurt you. I love you very much and wanted so much to just protect you, and at this point, I can only hope I have. Second, you probably know that I was being blackmailed. I suspect you overheard a conversation I had late one night. Anyway, I was being forced to keep an eye on you by a man named Saki Oroko. Your father. Who is still alive and trying to get you back to continue an experiment on you for TCRI to sell to the military. Please understand, I never wanted to see you get hurt, and more then once I tried to get him to change his mind. And there had been more then once I wanted to tell you the truth but I was too afraid because of my past. You said once that if someone's past effects someone's future, they should be told about it. I wish I had told you the truth about my past. Yes I was married once and my husband was shot. But what you don't know is that I was the one who shot him. It was in an alleyway, we had been attacked by robbers and one of them had a gun, he dropped it in a panic and I picked it up. I then used it to kill my husband, I told the police it had been the robbers and I had grabbed the gun after they panicked and dropped it. They believed me and I was free from an abusive marriage. But Saki had found evidence and..well...you now know the rest. I hope this letter gets to you before Saki does. Please, do what you can to stay away from him and go to the police for protection. I know I've done you, as well as your mother, (may she rest in peace), a terrible wrong, but I truly hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. No matter what happens between us, I love you and pray you will be okay._

 _All my love, Aunt Irma_.

The whole household was quiet as Raph read the letter. He looked up at Leo who was staring straight ahead in shock. He was just about to say something when Leo stood up abruptly, he walked upstairs and slammed the door to the guest room where he had been staying since that fateful night. Several moments later, a heartbreaking pained scream could be heard throughout the house.


	15. Chapter 15 Finding Forgiveness

Okay, this is the last chapter but I am writing a third book to this, it will deal with Leo and Raph's wedding and, yes, it is Leo-centric and bad things will happen to him. Now...on with the story.

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Ch 15 Finding Forgiveness.

"Leo." Raph knocked on the guest bedroom door. "Please open up." No answer. "Leo, please, it's been over a day, you need to come out." Raph sighed and pressed his ear to the door. If it wasn't for the occasional movements and sobbing, Raph would have probably broken the door down by now. But Leo had told him more then once he wanted to be left alone. "You need to come out and eat." He implored. "Please babe, for me."

"Not right now Raph." Leo's tired voice sounded through the door. "I just need more time." He whispered. "Please, just give me more time to deal with this."

Raph smoothed his hand over the door and leaned his head against the door. "I love you Leo." He whispered.

"I love you Raph." Leo whispered back.

Raph went downstairs and found Master Splinter coming out of the dojo. "Will Leonardo be joining us Raphael?"

Raph shook his head sadly. "I don't know what to do for him Sensei." He said dejectedly. "I want him to come out and be a part of...of us but he just won't." He looked at his cell phone. It was eight thirty five. "I just don't know what to do anymore."

Splinter placed a paw on his son's shoulder. "Go to school Raphael." He told him. "And do not worry about Leonardo for now." Raph looked up at him in wonder. "Leonardo has been through so much and needs time to heal spiritually as well as physically." He smiled down at his son as Donnie and Mikey came walking into the room. "When he has had time to come to terms with what has happened, we can help him find forgiveness."

"Forgiveness for what Sensei?" Donnie asked.

"Leo feels responsible for all that's happened." Mikey told him. "His mother's death, his aunt's and now his father." Mikey picked through some comics laying on the coffee table. "Especially after what his aunt said about killing her husband and being blackmailed, he feels responsible and like his whole world is just falling apart around him and he can't protect anyone from all that's happened."

His family looked at him dumbfounded as he found the comic he was looking for and looked back at them. "What?"

"Wow Mikey." Donnie said. "That's deep."

"And incredibly smart of you." Raph added.

Mikey shrugged. "Saw an episode of Dr. Phil that dealt with something similar." He told them.

"Of course you did." Splinter shook his head and watched as his sons one by one left the house to go to their daily activities. After his classes, he walked up to Leonardo's room with a tray of tea knocked on the door. "Leonardo, may I speak with you." Leo opened the door and smiled up at Splinter. "I was hoping you would join me our daily tea."

"Forgive me Sensei." Leo said as they sat down at the little table by the window in the guest room. "I'm trying to move on but I just don't know how." He sounded exasperated.

"May I make a suggestion?" Splinter asked.

"Please." Leo implored.

"You need to find closure my son." Splinter said, taking a sip of tea.

"But how?" Leo placed his head in his hand. "If only my aunt had talked to me, confided in me. We could've done something together." He moaned. "I know what she went through, I would've forgiven her."

Splinter looked at him curiously. "What do you mean you know what she went through." He asked. "Leonardo?" He cocked his head to one side. "Were you in an abusive relationship?"

Leo hung his head. "During the last year of school when my mom was really going down hill." He took a deep breath. "There was this guy and we started hanging out." He hung his head in shame. "At first it was nice to have someone to speak to and just be with, but then he started getting possessive. Insisted I had to let him know where I was when we weren't at school. He started showing up at the dojo and after practice, he would make me go with him where ever he wanted me to go. One day, my mom needed me to come home early. When I went to leave, he grabbed me and told me the only place I was going was with him. He started dragging me away and when I tried to force him to let me go, he hit me and told me I had to do what he said." Leo rubbed his cheek and Splinter saw a tear roll down his cheek. "I kneed him and told him to stay away from me or I would call the police for assault. After that I never heard from him again."

"What ever happened to this...person" Splinter asked.

"Jeffery Moore." Leo told him. "Was arrested for vehicular homicide. He got drunk and killed a couple coming home from a party late one night." Leo shook his head. "Oh Sensei. How am I suppose to find closure?" He ran a hand over his tired face. "There's no one left to talk to." He looked away sadly. "No one to go to anymore."

Splinter smiled at him tenderly at him. "Isn't there."

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Later that week, Leo made his way up a dirt path that was situated between a row of headstones. Tears fell from his eyes as he stood in front of one and placed a large bouquet of flowers in front of it. He placed a hand on the stone and rubbed his thumb along the name: Venus De Milo Tartaruga.

"Hello mother." Leo said, choking back a sob. "I'm so sorry I haven't been to visit in so long, but so much has happened since I last saw... _sob_...you." He took a deep shuddering breath. "I met this really great guy and we've fallen in love, his name is Raphael Hamato." Leo let out a small laugh. "Turns out we knew each other briefly in New York, which is where I've moved back to." He lowered his eyes. "But I'm sure you already knew about that...as I'm sure you already know about aunt Irma." He hiccuped as tears began to fall again. "Oh mom, I'm so sorry for everything." He wailed. "I wished I could have protected you from him. I wish I could have done something to help."

Behind Leo, Raph along with the rest of the family watched as Leo's body shook and he leaned heavily against his mother's tombstone. Raph started to move but was held back by Splinter. "Not yet my son." He told him.

"I don't know what to do." Leo confessed. "How do I move on?" He moaned. "I really need you right now mother." He whispered. "What do I do?"

A memory of his mother holding him as a child came back to him, he could hear her singing the lullaby "Pretty Little Horses" as she rocked him gently. Her bright blue eyes looking down at him tenderly and her smile bright and happy as she gently stroked his cheek. "Remember my son." She whispered to him. "No matter what, always look ahead, never behind."

Leo blinked as the memory faded away. He sat up and nodded as he took a deep breath and placed his hand on the headstone. "I love you mother." He said.

Raph felt Splinter's hand squeeze his shoulder. "Go to him now my son." Raph began walking up the dirt path. Leo turned his head slightly at the sound of approaching footsteps. He leaned his head on Raph's arm as he placed his hand on his shoulder and put his hand over Raph's. He stood up and looked down at the headstone.

"Mom, this is Raphael Hamato." He said. "We're engaged and he's made me really happy. I know if you were here you would approve of him." He turned and looked at Raph with a smile. "Behind us is his father and brothers and friends. They're really great and they...they've helped me so much."

Raph wrapped his arms around Leo from behind and kissed his cheek. "I promise you Mrs. Tartaruga, we'll take good care of each other."

"I've made plans to move you mom." Leo said. "I want you to come home, back to New York where you belong." He sighed deeply. "Aunt Irma left me lots of money and I'm going to see the lawyer on Monday. After that, I'll see you as often as I can. I promise." He took Raph's hand in his. "I love you mom, and thank you for being there for me."

Raph and Leo turned away from the grave and made their way back to their family and friends. They got in the car and as they drove off, Leo took one last look at his mother's grave and smiled.

As the car slowly drove out of the cemetery, the tall figure of a man in his early twenties stepped out from behind a clump of trees not too far away from where Venus's grave laid. The figure smiled and looked down at a picture of himself, slightly younger, hugging a slightly younger Leonardo. "Soon, Leonardo." The man whispered as he looked up and watched the car drive away. "Soon...I'll get you back."

~End~

So stay tuned for my continuing adventures of The Travelers. Have some other stories I want to write, yes they will be Leo-centric but I do have one that is Donnie and Mikey centric. Please keep those reviews coming. I love to go back and read them from my other stories too. Peace.


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